Chapter 15 - THE MAN INSIDE MY COMPANY
His name was Richard Hale.
For six years, he had advised senior employees on stock grants, taxes, and trusts.
Including me.
I had fired him from my accounts eighteen months earlier after he pushed aggressive investments I didn’t understand.
Apparently Carmen had kept his number.
Detectives found texts between them.
Hale had explained how my equity worked.
How divorce could affect marital distributions.
How temporary control might be obtained if I were declared unfit.
Carmen supplied the family access.
Hale supplied the financial strategy.
Daniel supplied signatures without reading.
I supplied the money.
Perfect machine.
Except for one thing.
Camila survived the balcony.
Valeria recorded it.
And I came home early.
Police arrested Hale that afternoon.
Carmen was charged with identity theft, forgery, fraud, and unlawful access related to my office.
Child neglect remained under investigation.
Daniel was not charged with fraud, but police made it clear his reckless signatures had helped.
At home—my hotel still felt more like home than the apartment—Camila sat on the bed eating strawberries.
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Is Grandma mad?”
I sat beside her.
“Grandma made some bad choices.”
“Is she coming back?”
“No.”
Camila’s shoulders relaxed.
That broke me.
A three-year-old should not feel relief because an adult is gone.
She leaned against me.
“I like when you’re home.”
“I know.”
“But you have to work.”
“I do.”
She thought about that.
“Can work not lock me outside?”
I closed my eyes.
“No, baby. Work will never do that.”
That night, I called my CEO.
I asked to step off travel for two months.
Not forever.
Not because Carmen had been right about working mothers.
Because my daughter needed stability after being harmed.
My CEO said yes before I finished explaining.
Then Lena called.
“We have a problem.”
“What now?”
“Daniel filed a response.”
My stomach tightened.
“Is he fighting custody?”
“No.”
A pause.
“He’s asking the court to terminate Carmen’s access to every family account.”
“That sounds good.”
“It would be.”
May you like
“Would be?”
“If Carmen hadn’t emptied them this morning.”
