Chapter 10 - The Fourth Account
A week after the funeral, Daniel sat in a conference room across from Nadia, Reyes, and a bank investigator named Sam Patel. "The fourth account isn't a secret pile of cash," Patel explained. "It's a reserve account used to guarantee loans. Someone pledged assets from the Harbor House trust to secure borrowing by Blue Iris Consulting."
"Those assets belong to old people," Daniel said. "And a charity."
"That's what the records suggest. We're still verifying authorization."
Money had traveled through several businesses in small transfers. Then a large payment had landed in a holding account controlled by a man named Victor Sloane.
Daniel recognized the name. Victor had helped organize Helen's memorial donation drive. At the burial, he'd stood beside Mallory with a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.
"He shook my hand," Daniel said. "He told me Mom was proud of me."
Nadia asked for copies through the proper process. Reyes explained that investigators were seeking records from Harbor House's board and the lending institution, along with preservation orders to keep anything from disappearing.
That evening, Daniel listened to a voice message Helen had left six weeks earlier. He'd been in a meeting and never called back.
"Danny, sweetheart, I don't need you to fix things. I just need you to come sit with me. There's something I have to tell you about Mallory. But mostly I want to hear how Emma's doing. Call when you can. Love you."
He played it again, holding the phone against his chest. Then he finally let himself cry for his mother without turning the grief into anger.
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A new message appeared from an unknown sender. It contained a photograph of Helen's charity ledger, open to a page covered in red ink.
Below the picture were seven words: ASK WHY YOUR MOTHER CHANGED HER WILL.
