Chapter 10 - The Hidden AccountThe money had been buying silence
Derek was questioned for five hours.
He denied everything.
The fraud.
The car.
The insurance policies.
The shell company.
The money transfers.
But investigators already had too much.
Then digital forensics cracked the external drive.
One folder changed everything.
It contained offshore transaction records.
More than $400,000.
The money had passed through Suzanne's company.
Then through two foreign accounts.
Then into an account associated with Victor Kane.
Skylar stared at the records.
“How did Derek know him?”
Alvarez answered:
“That is what we're trying to determine.”
Mara pointed at one transaction.
“This payment is dated six years ago.”
The same year Laura disappeared.
Skylar felt a chill.
Another payment.
Five years ago.
Another.
Four years.
Every year.
Money leaving.
Money disappearing.
Then one entry stood out.
SKYLAR BENNETT - $250,000
Skylar stared.
“I never received this.”
Mara shook her head.
“It never came to you.”
“What is it?”
A policy payout reserve.
The amount had been listed as a projected liability.
It looked like Derek had been preparing for something.
Skylar whispered:
“He was planning for me to die.”
No one answered.
Then the detective found an encrypted note.
It took hours to unlock.
Inside were only three sentences.
Skylar is resistant.
The apartment is valuable.
If necessary, accelerate the timeline.
Mara looked at Alvarez.
“What timeline?”
He answered:
“The accident.”
Skylar's hands trembled.
But there was another discovery.
The metadata showed who created the note.
Not Derek.
Suzanne.
Skylar stared.
“So she was running the operation.”
Alvarez nodded.
“Possibly.”
They questioned Suzanne again.
At first she refused to speak.
Then the prosecutors showed her the documents.
She broke.
Not into tears.
Into anger.
“You don't understand.”
Alvarez said, “Then explain.”
Suzanne looked at Skylar.
“She wasn't supposed to get away.”
Skylar's stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Because Derek owed people money.”
“How much?”
“More than seventy thousand.”
Skylar frowned.
“That's not enough to risk murder.”
Suzanne laughed bitterly.
“You think the money was only his?”
Silence.
She continued.
“Victor wasn't lending Derek money.”
Skylar stared.
“He was collecting.”
“Collecting what?”
“Debts.”
“Whose?”
Suzanne looked away.
“Mine too.”
Then she confessed.
Suzanne had been running illegal financial schemes through the consulting company.
Derek handled insurance leads.
She handled identity information.
They sold data.
They created fraudulent applications.
They moved money.
When victims resisted, Derek used emotional pressure.
Some were threatened.
Some were financially ruined.
Laura had discovered the operation.
She had threatened to expose them.
Three days later, she disappeared.
Skylar felt sick.
“Did you kill her?”
Suzanne's eyes filled.
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
“She ran.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why did you tell Derek to accelerate the timeline?”
Suzanne looked down.
“Because Victor threatened us.”
“With what?”
She whispered:
“He knew what happened to Laura.”
Skylar stared.
“Where is Laura?”
Suzanne shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Then the door opened.
A detective entered carrying another file.
“We found her.”
Everyone froze.
Skylar stood.
“Found who?”
The detective looked at Alvarez.
“Laura Hayes.”
Skylar's heartbeat became deafening.
“She's alive.”
Suzanne covered her mouth.
Alvarez asked:
“Where?”
The detective answered:
“A shelter in northern Florida.”
Skylar's knees nearly buckled.
“But that's not all.”
“What?”
The detective placed a photograph on the table.
Laura was standing beside a man.
Victor Kane.
May you like
And written beneath the photograph was a date.
Two days ago.
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