Chapter 11 - The Second File
The missing folder contained the original trust agreement, a letter from Daniel's father, and a list of authorized account signers. It also held a memo warning that no single family member should control both the trust and the company's operating accounts. Someone had removed the final page, which listed the trustees' contact details and the procedure for reporting suspicious transfers.
Daniel's father had written a note in the margin: If someone tells you this is all just paperwork, ask who benefits from your not reading it.
The audit team traced the first transfer from the college fund to Northstar, then to Eric's firm, then to an account held by a company that had no visible operations. The trail was incomplete, but enough to justify a formal fraud review. The bank froze the remaining balance while the trustees and authorities worked through the records.
Vanessa requested a meeting with Daniel at a lawyer's office. Mark advised him to attend only with counsel present. Vanessa arrived in a plain gray suit, no jewelry, and an expression of exhausted sadness.
“You've turned my family against me,” she said.
“You moved money from Jake's future and put something in my drink.”
“Then explain the dropper.”
She stared at him for a long moment. “You never understood how much pressure I was under.”
For the first time, Vanessa's sadness gave way to anger. “You think you're innocent? You let me handle every ugly part of your life. You wanted a wife who would take care of things so you could play the hero at work.”
Daniel didn't deny that he'd relied on her. “I may have been careless. That doesn't make your choices my fault.”
Vanessa leaned forward. “Ask Jake what he saw the night his mother died.”
May you like
Daniel went still. Jake's mother had died in a car accident years before Vanessa entered their lives.
Vanessa stood. “More than you know.”
