Chapter 16 - The Money Trail Led Somewhere Worse
|
Nora reviewed Rebecca's invoice that evening.
She examined the dates, payment instructions, and bank reference numbers.
Then she compared them with the statements I'd obtained.
After twenty minutes, she placed three sheets of paper beside each other.
“Claire, I think we've identified the major destinations.”
She pointed to the first.
“Eighty-six thousand dollars went to Rebecca's business.”
The second.
“Fifty-one thousand two hundred went toward Walter's property-related obligation.”
Then the third.
“Thirty-eight thousand four hundred went to Morrow Advisory Services.”
I stared at the amounts.
Together, they accounted for the entire one hundred seventy-five thousand six hundred dollars drawn from the credit line.
Every dollar had a destination.
None of those destinations had been approved by me.
Nora tapped the third page.
“This company is the one I find most interesting.”
“Because of Evelyn?”
“Because I can't establish what legitimate services it provided.”
We searched the public business registration information.
Morrow Advisory Services was associated with an address that also appeared in older property records.
It wasn't Evelyn's home.
It was a property near Lake Anna.
I recognized the location.
Years earlier, Walter had mentioned that he once owned a small vacation property near the lake.
He said he'd sold it after his heart surgery.
According to him, the family no longer had any interest in the place.
But the company records suggested the property was still connected to someone using Evelyn's maiden name.
I sat back.
“Why would they need an advisory company connected to an old vacation property?”
Nora shook her head.
“I don't know. A registered company doesn't prove anything improper by itself. We need the underlying records.”
I forwarded everything to Andrea.
She called an hour later.
“Claire, the document Rebecca gave you is important.”
“Do you think Evelyn was involved?”
“I think we have reason to ask questions. But we need evidence before drawing conclusions.”
I looked at the invoice again.
“What happens if Daniel used the money to pay his family's expenses?”
“Those payments may help explain where the funds went. They don't resolve whether you authorized the borrowing.”
I rubbed my forehead.
“Could I lose my house?”
Andrea paused.
“That's exactly what we're working to prevent. But I won't promise you an outcome before we've reviewed the lender's records and your legal options.”
Her answer frightened me.
It also made me trust her.
She wasn't selling reassurance.
She was telling me the truth.
Then she asked:
“Have you spoken to Walter since the family meeting?”
“No.”
“I think he may know more about that lake property than anyone else.”
After the call, I sat alone with the paperwork.
The figures suddenly told a story I hadn't wanted to believe.
Daniel hadn't borrowed money to save our marriage.
He hadn't borrowed to keep Sophie in school.
He hadn't even borrowed to cover our household bills.
He had borrowed against our home to rescue the people who had humiliated me.
And somewhere in those transactions was a payment connected to the woman who had watched her daughter strike me.
My phone lit up.
Walter Bennett.
I answered.
He didn't say hello.
“Claire, I found something in Evelyn's old records.”
May you like
His voice trembled.
“I think you need to see it before Daniel does.”
