Chapter 6 - The Account in My NameWe hid in a motel two miles from the harbor.
I couldn't stop shaking.
Ethan locked the door.
Then the windows.
Then checked beneath the bed.
“You do this often?” I asked.
“Unfortunately.”
“You knew my father might be alive.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew the account was in my name.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because if I told you, they would know I knew.”
I stared at him.
“You make everything sound reasonable.”
“I’m not asking you to forgive me.”
“Good.”
He sat at the small table.
“We need to access the account.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“You've lied too much.”
“I know.”
“I don't trust you.”
“I know.”
“Then why should I let you help?”
He looked exhausted.
“Because they already know you're involved.”
I opened my hand.
The little metal key lay there.
“What happens if I use it?”
“The account opens.”
“And then?”
“We find out who moved the money.”
I looked at him.
“You said my father was protecting me.”
“He was.”
“Then why put the money in my name?”
“Because you were the only person they believed would never betray them.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So my entire childhood was a safety deposit box?”
“No.”
“Then what was I?”
He looked at me.
“The one thing your father still loved.”
That silenced me.
At 2:17 a.m., we entered an encrypted banking system using credentials my father had left behind.
The screen loaded.
My name appeared.
CLAIRE BENNETT.
Balance:
$32,184,009.71
I stopped breathing.
“That's impossible.”
Ethan said nothing.
My phone rang.
I answered.
My father's voice.
“Don't touch the money.”
I looked at Ethan.
“How are you alive?”
“Not long.”
“Where are you?”
“Listen to me. You're being watched.”
“Who?”
“The person closest to you.”
My eyes slowly moved toward Ethan.
He noticed.
“Claire?”
My father continued.
“It isn't Ethan.”
I froze.
Then who?
“Dad, tell me.”
The line crackled.
“It's…”
The call dropped.
I tried calling back.
Disconnected.
Ethan stood.
“We need to leave.”
“No.”
“They found us.”
“How?”
He looked at the laptop.
A red notification had appeared.
REMOTE ACCESS DETECTED.
Someone was inside the account.
Someone was watching us.
Then the balance changed.
$32,184,009.71
became
$0.00.
The money was gone.
I stared at the screen.
Ethan whispered:
“They emptied it.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“What?”
The account history opened automatically.
A single transfer appeared.
Recipient: VANESSA REED
I looked at Ethan.
He went pale.
“It's impossible.”
“Is it?”
“That account was locked.”
“But she has access.”
He stepped backward.
“Claire, listen to me.”
“You knew.”
“I didn't.”
“You knew Vanessa was taking the money.”
“No.”
I pointed at the screen.
“Then explain this.”
He looked at the transaction.
His face changed.
And then he said something I never expected.
“Vanessa isn't stealing the money.”
“Then what is she doing?”
“She’s moving it.”
“To where?”
He stared at the destination account.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Back to your father.”
