Chapter 8 - The Missing Documents
Ava disappeared with the one piece of evidence that could destroy all of them.
Security searched the resort.
Nothing.
Her phone was switched off.
Her car remained parked outside.
The gala dissolved into confusion.
Richard Hayes ordered the ballroom cleared.
My father blamed me.
Then Logan.
Then Elena.
Nobody believed him.
At midnight, we returned to my house.
I checked the garage.
The Charger was still there.
The tracker had been removed.
Whoever installed it had been watching the vehicle for weeks.
I looked at Lucas.
“Why would Ava take the loan documents?”
“Maybe she didn't.”
“What do you mean?”
He pointed to the dashboard.
“That tracker wasn't for finding the car.”
I frowned.
“What was it for?”
“Timing.”
He explained.
“If someone knew when the car entered or left the garage, they could build a schedule around it.”
“For what?”
He looked at the documents.
“To move something.”
A cold feeling ran through me.
We searched my garage.
Every shelf.
Every cabinet.
Every toolbox.
Then Lucas found something beneath the floor mat near the workbench.
A tiny magnetic box.
Inside was a USB drive.
No label.
I plugged it into a disconnected laptop.
There was one folder.
PROJECT HAYES
Inside were video files.
I opened the first.
Ava appeared on screen.
She was sitting at Dad's office.
Talking to a man I didn't recognize.
“I need her out of the house during Thanksgiving.”
The man nodded.
“Will that be enough?”
“She trusts the family.”
My skin prickled.
Another video.
Dad.
Ava.
The same man.
They were discussing the Charger.
“Once the Hayes investment closes, the title issue won't matter.”
I leaned closer.
“What title issue?”
The video continued.
Ava asked:
“What if Willow finds out?”
Dad answered.
“She won't.”
“She's smart.”
“She fixes engines. She doesn't understand finance.”
The room became silent.
I stared at the screen.
Lucas looked furious.
Elena remained completely still.
The next clip began.
My mother entered the room.
She looked frightened.
She said:
“You promised you wouldn't use her name.”
Dad turned.
“We need her ownership percentage.”
“No.”
“If we don't secure the loan, the company collapses.”
“Then let it.”
Dad slapped the desk.
“You don't understand what's at stake.”
My mother whispered:
“She is our daughter.”
Dad answered:
“She's family.”
Then the video cut.
I sat back.
For years, I had thought my father believed I was less successful than Ava.
Now I understood.
He didn't think I was less successful.
He thought I was easier to control.
Another file.
Another conversation.
This one frightened me more.
Dad was speaking to the same unknown man.
“We only need the car until closing.”
“And after?”
“After the transfer, we deal with Willow.”
“How?”
Dad stared at the camera.
“She'll sign.”
The man laughed.
“What if she doesn't?”
My father smiled.
“Then we make sure she has something to lose.”
The screen went black.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then I heard breathing.
A woman's.
“Mom?”
Silence.
Then she whispered:
“Willow, don't trust your father.”
The call ended.
I immediately called her back.
No answer.
I looked at Logan.
“Where is my mother?”
He grabbed his coat.
“We're finding her.”
Before we could leave, my front door slammed open.
Police officers entered.
I froze.
One officer held out a document.
“Willow Carter?”
“Yes.”
“You are being investigated for suspected financial fraud involving Carter Holdings.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
He handed me a warrant.
My name was everywhere.
The restoration company.
The loan.
The vehicle transfers.
My signature.
My ownership.
All of it.
Someone had built the perfect case.
May you like
And the only person missing from the paperwork was the person who had actually done it.
My father.
