Chapter 12 - Ethan’s PartnerPolice detained Ethan at his hotel.
The man in the cap was gone.
Ethan denied meeting Daniel Vega.
“I met a private investigator.”
Detective Morales sat across from him.
Claire watched through the glass.
“What’s his name?”
“Victor Lane.”
“No licensed investigator by that name matches the description.”
“Then he lied to me.”
“Why did you meet him?”
“He contacted me.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
“What did he want?”
“He claimed he had information about Northbridge.”
Morales placed the traffic image on the table.
“Did you notice his ring?”
Ethan looked.
His face changed.
“No.”
“That’s Daniel Vega’s ring.”
Ethan leaned back.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel is dead.”
Morales watched him.
“Maybe.”
Claire entered before the detective could stop her.
Ethan stood.
“Claire.”
“Did you know Daniel might be alive?”
“No.”
“Did he work for you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you send him to my house the night Mom died?”
Ethan stared.
“No.”
“Did you come here?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Evelyn asked me.”
“Prove it.”
“I can’t.”
“Convenient.”
Ethan slammed his palm on the table.
“She called me.”
Claire flinched.
He lowered his voice.
“She said George had taken something from her room.”
George entered behind Claire.
“That’s a lie.”
Ethan looked at him.
“You took her audit file.”
“I never saw it.”
“Evelyn said you did.”
George stepped closer.
“You were the one stealing from us.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“You still don’t understand what Northbridge was.”
Claire turned.
“Then explain it.”
Ethan looked at her for a long moment.
“Your father didn’t create Northbridge to hide money from lenders.”
George went rigid.
“He created it to buy back Bennett Development debt through anonymous entities.”
Claire frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does if your company is months from bankruptcy.”
George said, “Stop.”
Ethan ignored him.
“George purchased distressed Bennett debt at discounts through shell companies, then used insider knowledge to restructure it.”
Claire looked at her father.
“Is that true?”
George didn’t answer.
“That could be securities fraud,” Claire whispered.
“It was privately held debt,” Ethan said, “but there were still disclosure issues, lender covenants, fiduciary problems. Evelyn discovered it.”
“And Red Harbor?”
“That was mine.”
Claire stared.
“So you admit it.”
“I built software and data services for the restructuring.”
“Did you steal three million dollars?”
“No.”
“Mom thought you did.”
“Evelyn thought everyone was stealing because George had lied to her for months.”
George’s face tightened.
“You exploited the chaos.”
Ethan leaned forward.
“Tell Claire who BHM Capital belongs to.”
George stopped breathing.
Claire looked at him.
“Dad?”
George closed his eyes.
Ethan answered for him.
“BHM stood for Bennett Heritage Management.”
Claire stared.
“It belonged to Mom?”
“Partly.”
“To who else?”
Ethan looked at George.
“Tell her.”
George whispered, “You.”
Claire’s heart stopped.
“What?”
“Your mother formed it for you when you were twenty-one.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“She intended to move control of the company to you gradually.”
“Then why were the certificates in her safe?”
“Because she never completed the transfer.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Wrong.”
George looked at him.
Ethan continued.
“She completed it.”
Claire stared.
“The shares?”
“BHM owns twenty-two percent of Bennett Development.”
“How much is that worth?”
“Today?”
He hesitated.
“Roughly sixty million.”
Claire felt dizzy.
“And you’re saying I own it?”
“Evelyn placed it in an irrevocable trust for you.”
George snapped, “You don’t know that.”
“I found the filing.”
“Where?”
Ethan looked directly at Claire.
“In box 317.”
Claire went cold.
“The box hadn’t been opened.”
“Not that box.”
Silence.
Ethan leaned back.
“There’s another one.”
Claire stared at him.
“Where?”
“Different bank.”
“Number?”
“318.”
George turned pale.
And Claire understood.
“You knew.”
George whispered, “Evelyn told me there were two boxes.”
“You let everyone chase 317.”
“I didn’t know where 318 was.”
Ethan smiled without humor.
“I did.”
Morales stepped forward.
“Where is it?”
May you like
Ethan looked at Claire.
“Ask Maria.”
Related Stories
