Chapter 12 - My Name in the System
I stared.
“That’s impossible.”
Rebecca did not accuse.
She asked.
“Have you ever logged into Easton’s vendor network?”
“No.”
“Have you used your father’s home office computer?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
Dad looked at me.
“Your old laptop.”
I remembered.
He still used it for email sometimes.
Someone used my personal information.
Birth date.
Old address.
Engineering license number.
Who had access to those details?
Fiona.
George.
My employer.
Dad.
Martinez Urban headquarters.
I looked at Fiona.
Her face collapsed.
“I didn’t.”
“I believe you.”
George’s legal team claimed a rogue employee.
Then the employee was identified.
Fiona’s brother, Evan.
I had barely mentioned him because he lived in Chicago and claimed to hate the family business.
He arrived that evening with a lawyer.
Rebecca stared.
“You created a false account under your sister’s fiancé’s identity.”
“Dad said Blake authorized it.”
I laughed.
“Did I?”
“No.”
“Then why believe him?”
Evan looked down.
Because in that family, George’s word was treated as permission.
He admitted downloading files.
Forwarding them to George.
Never asked where they went next.
Never asked why.
Fiona looked destroyed.
“My whole family used him.”
Evan said, “I didn’t know.”
She rounded on him.
“That’s the family motto.”
Dad stayed silent.
Then Evan said something unexpected.
“George didn’t start this because of Lakeview.”
We all looked at him.
“What?” Rebecca asked.
“He started digging into Arthur after he learned Blake and Fiona were engaged.”
“Why?”
Evan swallowed.
“Because he thought the marriage might give Blake a future claim against Martinez assets.”
I stared.
“That makes no sense.”
Evan shook his head.
“He wasn’t afraid of Blake taking Martinez money.”
“Then what?”
“He was afraid Arthur would discover where our money came from.”
May you like
Dad’s face changed.
George’s empire had a secret older than the wedding.
