Chapter 4 - THE MONEY THAT MOVED
Daniel called the bank before he called anyone else.
The fraud department froze the trust account within minutes.
Three withdrawals had gone to a consulting company he had never heard of.
Hearthstone Family Services.
The address belonged to a mailbox store across town.
The authorized signer was Claire Reed.
Daniel stared at the screen.
He had added Claire as a temporary co-signer two years earlier when he was traveling for work.
He had forgotten to remove her.
Someone else had not forgotten.
Officer Ramos arrived with a detective named Alicia Chen.
Daniel handed them the second phone.
Chen did not touch it without gloves.
“Where did you find this?”
“Hidden in our bedroom wall.”
Her expression sharpened.
“Did Claire know you were searching?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Lily was drawing at the dining table with the child advocate.
Daniel watched her color a house with one black window.
“Why is that one dark?” he asked gently.
Lily covered it with her hand.
“That’s the quiet room.”
Daniel crouched.
“What quiet room?”
She looked toward the stairs.
“Grandma says I’m not supposed to tell.”
Daniel’s chest tightened.
“There is no rule like that anymore.”
Lily studied his face.
Then she stood and led him to the pantry.
Daniel expected her to point inside.
Instead, she touched the narrow wall beside the shelves.
“There.”
Daniel pushed.
Nothing happened.
Detective Chen noticed fresh paint around the baseboard.
She called for a warrant before anyone opened it.
Two hours later, a crime-scene technician removed a panel.
Behind it was a shallow storage cavity.
Inside were three memory cards, a notebook, and a padded envelope with Daniel’s name written across the front.
May you like
The handwriting was not Claire’s.
It belonged to his late father.
