Chapter 14 - Michael's Signature
Michael looked like someone had emptied him out.
"What did he mean?" he asked her.
Mara hesitated.
That was answer enough.
At the federal office, she pulled up a transfer from nine years earlier. Michael's signature authorized moving three million dollars from a dormant founder account into a "strategic reserve."
"I signed that," he said.
"Yes," Mara said. "But you were twenty-five. Your mother told the board the money was for an acquisition."
"I didn't read the attachment."
"No."
He stood and walked to the window.
That first signature gave them the structure they used for years.
Michael whispered, "I helped them."
"You trusted your parents," I said.
"I helped them."
"You made one careless decision. They built a criminal operation around it."
He turned on me. "Stop protecting me from what I did."
I stepped closer. "I'm not. I'm protecting you from becoming what Diane wants--so ashamed that you hand her your life again."
He stared at me.
Then his shoulders dropped.
"You're really mad at me."
"I'm furious."
A weak laugh escaped him.
"Good."
Federal analysts traced Victor's barge to a marina. He had abandoned it, but left behind a laptop damaged by river water.
Technicians recovered one encrypted audio file.
The recording was from the night before Andrew's crash.
Andrew's voice: "Diane, this ends tomorrow. I'm telling Robert the baby is mine. I'm telling the board about Victor."
Then Diane's voice, quiet and deadly.
"If you do that, you'll lose everything."
Andrew answered, "No. You will."
There was a long silence.
Then Diane said, "You won't make it to the board."
Michael stopped breathing.
The file continued.
A third voice entered the room.
May you like
Robert Bennett.
And Robert said, "Diane, what have you done?"
