Chapter 5 - Eleanor's Last Recording
Richard put the flash drive in his pocket. “That sounds like a reason to listen.”
Victoria stepped closer. “Peter handled the foundation vendors. If there were accounting mistakes, he corrected them. Eleanor was exhausted. She saw problems where there weren't any.”
“She wrote that she found irregular transfers.”
“She worried about everything near the end.” Victoria's gaze slid to his pocket. “Give me the drive.”
“No.”
For one second, her eyes went flat and cold. Then she smiled. “Go downstairs. Your guests are waiting. Maya can stay with Grace until she calms down.”
Richard went to his office and connected the drive to an old laptop. A folder marked “Eleanor—Final” contained spreadsheets, scanned letters, and one audio file. He pressed play.
Eleanor's voice filled the room, thin with fatigue but unmistakable. “Richard, if you're hearing this, I didn't get the chance to explain what Peter found. He's been moving foundation money through companies that don't provide the services listed on the invoices. Victoria knows. She begged me not to tell you because Peter's business is failing.”
There was a pause, then Eleanor continued. “I don't believe Victoria planned what happened to me. But I do believe she is helping him hide the money. Peter said a grieving father could be persuaded to sign anything if he thought it would keep his child safe.”
Richard gripped the edge of the desk. The recording ended with Eleanor's voice: “Please look after Maya. Don't let anyone make her believe she was the reason I died.”
A knock came at the door. Grace entered, pale and worried.
“Mrs. Vance has asked security to bring Maya to the ballroom for the family photographs,” she said. “Miss Maya is refusing to go.”
“Then she won't go.”
Grace hesitated, then handed him a small voice recorder she had found in the laundry basket beside Maya's dress.
“I think Miss Maya has been recording what happens upstairs.”
May you like
Richard looked at the device.
His daughter had been collecting proof because she no longer trusted anyone to believe her.
