Chapter 4 - Nora's Bag
Daniel sat beside Nora's hospital bed and finally told the truth.
Not all of it.
But enough.
"Owen found transfers connected to Halcyon," he said. "He thought Dad was involved."
Nora looked at Charles's closed guardianship folder on the floor.
"Dad runs real estate."
"Dad owns half the companies Halcyon rents emergency housing from."
Eli leaned against the wall. "Owen thought the charity was paying inflated invoices."
Daniel nodded. "And somebody was moving the difference."
"Nine hundred forty thousand?" Eli asked.
Daniel's head snapped toward him.
"How do you know that number?"
"Owen said it."
Nora stared between them.
Daniel stood too fast. "I need to go."
"No."
"Nora, listen to me. If Dad realizes what Owen gave me—"
"The hospital bag?"
Daniel stopped.
He reached inside his coat and pulled out a folded page.
"I took one thing from it."
It was a photocopy of a bank transfer authorization.
At the bottom was Charles Mercer's signature.
At the top was a Halcyon vendor Nora recognized.
MERCER LAKE DEVELOPMENT LLC.
Amount: $188,000.
"There were more pages," Daniel said. "Owen kept them."
Nora's phone buzzed again.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: DANIEL IS NOT SAFE.
Then another.
ASK HIM WHY THERE WAS BLOOD IN OWEN'S TRUCK.
Nora looked up.
Daniel had already seen the message reflected in the dark television screen.
May you like
He went pale.
Nora remembered every time Charles had paid a bill before she asked, fixed a problem before she understood it, or warned her that strangers wanted something from the Mercer name. For years she had called that care. Now, with a forged money trail inches from Lucy's blanket, she wondered how often help had really been a way to keep everyone dependent on him.
