Chapter 4 - THE MONEY THAT WASN’T THERE
By morning, Daniel had stopped asking whether Claire was lying.
Now he wanted to know how many lies there were.
He called the bank that managed Lily’s trust account.
Sarah had created it shortly after Lily was born.
Daniel rarely touched it.
The money was supposed to be for Lily’s future.
College.
A home.
Whatever life required when Daniel was no longer there to protect her.
The bank officer sounded confused.
“Mr. Carter, are you calling about the recent distributions?”
Daniel sat upright.
“What distributions?”
A pause followed.
“Three transfers totaling eighty-four thousand dollars.”
Daniel stopped breathing for a second.
“I never authorized those.”
The officer went silent.
Then she asked him to come in immediately.
At the bank, Daniel saw copies of the authorization forms.
His signature was on every page.
It was a good forgery.
Good enough to fool someone who didn’t see his handwriting every day.
The receiving account belonged to a consulting company called North Bridge Advisory.
Daniel had never heard of it.
Then he saw the emergency contact attached to the transfer request.
Claire Morgan Carter.
His wife.
His throat tightened.
“Freeze everything.”
The banker nodded.
“We already have.”
Daniel called Claire from the parking lot.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“You stole from Lily.”
Silence.
Then Claire sighed.
“You don’t understand that account.”
“It’s my daughter’s money.”
“No.”
Her voice dropped.
“That’s what Sarah wanted you to believe.”
Daniel gripped the steering wheel.
“You said her name like you knew her.”
Claire realized the mistake.
Too late.
“Claire.”
No answer.
“How did you know Sarah?”
The call ended.
Daniel sat in the truck, staring at his phone.
Then a text arrived from an unknown number.
STOP DIGGING INTO NORTH BRIDGE.
A second message followed.
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THE NEXT VIDEO YOU GET WON’T SHOW LILY CRYING.
IT WILL SHOW SOMETHING WORSE.
