Chapter 3 - The Money Trail
That night, I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lily standing at the school gate.
Small.
Soaked.
Alone.
And every time I opened them, I saw my father's signature beneath a transaction that was supposed to have my name on it.
At seven the next morning, David was already sitting at the kitchen table.
He had printed every financial statement.
Stacks of paper covered the surface.
"You've been up all night," I said.
"So have you."
He pushed a folder toward me.
"The lake house sale."
I opened it.
The property had sold for $1.25 million.
The buyer was an LLC.
Briar Lake Holdings.
I frowned.
"Who's behind it?"
David tapped the page.
"That's the interesting part."
The LLC was owned by another company.
Which was owned by another.
Three layers deep.
But there was one person listed as authorized representative.
Miranda Bennett.
My sister.
I stared at the page.
"She bought Grandpa's house?"
"Technically, yes."
"With trust money?"
David nodded.
I kept reading.
The purchase price was $1.25 million.
The trust received $1.21 million after expenses.
Then forty-seven days later, $920,000 left the trust.
Destination?
Briar Lake Holdings.
My sister's company.
I felt sick.
I turned another page.
More transfers.
$84,000 for a vehicle.
$36,000 for renovations.
$19,400 for private school.
$11,700 for medical expenses.
$9,800 for a vacation.
I looked at David.
"How long?"
"At least seven years."
Seven years.
Seven years of me sending my parents money every month while they had access to millions of dollars that belonged to me.
I laughed once.
It wasn't funny.
"I thought I was helping them survive."
David reached across the table.
"You were."
My eyes burned.
"They didn't need survival money."
"No."
"They needed access."
David nodded.
Before I could respond, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?"
"Ms. Bennett?"
"Yes."
"This is Hannah Reed."
"Attorney?"
"Yes."
I glanced at David.
"How did you get my number?"
"Your grandfather's estate lawyer listed me as successor counsel on the trust."
I sat straighter.
"You knew about the trust?"
"I was not involved in its administration. I became aware after the audit request was filed."
"What did you find?"
There was a pause.
"Would you like me to be direct?"
"Please."
"The trust may have been improperly administered for years."
My stomach tightened.
"How improperly?"
"There are distributions I cannot reconcile."
"How much?"
"At least $1.4 million."
I closed my eyes.
"And the signatures?"
"That's why I'm calling."
Her voice became quieter.
"We have reason to believe the documents bearing your signature may be fraudulent."
I looked toward David.
He already knew from my expression.
"Can you prove that?"
"Not yet."
"What would prove it?"
"Travel records."
I blinked.
"What?"
"Your military travel records. Dates of deployment. Location. Access records. Anything proving where you were when these documents were supposedly signed."
I understood immediately.
If I had been in another country, I couldn't have been sitting in a notary's office signing paperwork in Virginia.
"I can get those."
"Good."
Hannah hesitated.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"One of the largest distributions went to a company called Northstar Family Services."
I searched the statements.
There it was.
$212,500.
"What's that?"
"I don't know."
"Who owns it?"
"That's what we're trying to establish."
I looked at David.
"Miranda?"
"Not directly."
"Then who?"
Hannah took a breath.
"Your father."
I felt the room tilt.
My father had created a company using a different name.
The same father who had told me I was helping my family.
The same father who had watched Lily stand in the rain.
The same father who had called me emotional.
"Emily?"
"I'm here."
"There is one more thing you should know."
"What?"
"The trust's current balance is not $1.8 million."
My heart pounded.
"Then how much?"
"Approximately $83,400."
I stared at the table.
Nearly two million dollars.
Gone.
Silence.
Then Hannah said:
"Unless we can recover the transferred assets, your parents may have nothing left."
I looked toward the window.
For a second I imagined my childhood summers at the lake house.
Grandpa laughing.
Grandma making lemonade.
Miranda running beside me.
The family I remembered suddenly felt like a carefully staged photograph.
Then Hannah spoke again.
"Ms. Bennett, I strongly recommend you do not warn your family yet."
"Why?"
"Because if someone forged your signature, they may destroy the evidence."
My blood ran cold.
"Are you saying someone in my family could be involved?"
"I am saying the documents were signed by someone."
She paused.
"And I believe that person knew exactly when you were out of the country."
The call ended.
I stared at David.
He didn't say anything.
Neither did I.
Then my phone buzzed.
A text message from my mother.
Please don't do this to your family.
I stared at it.
May you like
I hadn't told them I had hired Hannah.
Which meant someone was watching.
