Chapter 10 - The Blue Folder
Olivia remembered seeing the blue folder at home.
"Vanessa hid it behind the old records cabinet," she told Celia. "Right before she fired Millie."
Celia told her not to return for it. The house was a potential evidence location, and Vanessa's no-contact conditions did not make it safe for a teenager to search.
Instead, Celia passed the information to Detective Ruiz, who was working with financial investigators. A warrant followed after records and witness statements linked the house office to the disputed paperwork.
The folder was gone.
But someone had overlooked a carbon-copy receipt beneath the cabinet. It showed delivery of "original board consents" to a storage unit leased by Evan Kline.
"Why keep paper copies?" Adrian asked Ruiz.
"Sometimes people who manipulate digital records like something they can hold," she said. "Sometimes they need forged signatures to look old."
An employee at the storage facility confirmed that Evan had visited after the police took Vanessa in for questioning. Video showed him removing a narrow metal case.
Investigators sought the next warrant. In the meantime, a judge ordered preservation of relevant bank and company records.
That night Olivia sat beside Clara in Beth's kitchen, working on a history assignment. She stared at a blank page for so long Clara finally asked what was wrong.
"Do you hate Dad?"
"I hate what he did," Clara said. "That's not the same question."
"Are you going to forgive him?"
"I don't know. Forgiveness doesn't make a house safe."
Olivia nodded. "I miss how we were before."
"Me too."
Clara reached across the table. Olivia took her hand.
Then Beth appeared in the doorway, holding her phone.
"There's a woman on the line," she said. "She says she used to keep the books for Evan Kline."
May you like
The caller had one condition.
"I will talk," she said, "but you need to protect my son first."
