Chapter 9 - Sophie's Money Was MissingDaniel did not confront Laura immediately.
Rebecca's warning stayed in his mind.
Be boring.
Be calm.
Document everything.
He asked Laura to stay with Sophie while he went to his office downtown for an hour.
She watched him suspiciously.
"Why?"
"Work."
"After today?"
"Especially after today."
That answer was true.
Bennett Development employed more than eighty people.
Daniel's marriage could collapse without taking everybody's livelihood with it.
He changed clothes, picked up his laptop, and left.
Ten minutes into the drive, Mark called.
Daniel ignored it.
He called Rachel instead.
"Can you pull every record we have involving Sophie's custodial account?"
There was a pause.
"Is something wrong?"
"Probably."
Rachel knew better than to push.
"I'll have accounting send whatever we maintain."
The account wasn't corporate, but Daniel's financial planner had coordinated family planning through the company.
By the time Daniel arrived, Rebecca had already connected him with the adviser.
The answer was worse than he'd feared.
The account had contained $612,400 nine months earlier.
Current balance:
$74,891.
Daniel stared at the number.
"Where did it go?"
The adviser sounded uncomfortable.
"Several withdrawals."
"By whom?"
"Laura, as custodian."
"Why wasn't I notified?"
"You weren't an account owner or custodian."
Daniel pressed his fingers against his forehead.
"What were the stated purposes?"
"Expenses for the minor."
"Half a million dollars?"
"I need to review the documentation."
Daniel's voice became colder.
"Please do."
He ended the call.
For several minutes, he sat without moving.
His father's money.
Thomas had adored Sophie.
The custodial account was supposed to pay for education, travel, maybe a first home one day.
Laura knew that.
If she'd taken it to buy her own house—
Daniel stopped himself.
He needed proof.
Not rage.
His phone buzzed again.
Mark.
This time Daniel answered.
"What?"
"Did you find the account?"
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"You knew?"
"I found out last week."
"And said nothing."
"I was trying to get Laura to put it back."
"Put it back?"
"She told me it was temporary."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"Of course she did."
"Daniel, I gave her four hundred grand because she said she needed to replace money before you noticed."
Daniel went still.
"Explain that."
Mark sighed.
"She told me she moved some of Sophie's account into the house because her attorney said she couldn't use marital funds without creating a paper trail."
"Her attorney told her to take money from a child?"
"No. That's what Laura told me."
Daniel wrote it down.
"So you gave her money."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I thought we were building a life together."
The humiliation in Mark's voice was obvious.
Daniel felt no sympathy.
"She was robbing my daughter and you helped cover it."
"I didn't know at first."
"That sentence sounds familiar."
"I know."
"Did you ever ask where the money came from?"
"Eventually."
"After you'd already given her four hundred thousand."
"Yes."
Daniel looked through his office window at employees moving through the corridor.
Normal people having a normal afternoon.
His entire life had become unbelievable in less than five hours.
"Why tell me now?"
Mark was silent.
"Because she dumped you?"
Another silence.
Daniel had guessed correctly.
"When?"
"This morning."
Daniel frowned.
"You were sitting on my bed asking when she would divorce me."
"I know."
"And she'd already ended things?"
"Not exactly."
"What happened?"
"She told me after Westbridge she needed space."
Daniel shook his head.
"And you still went to my house."
"I wanted an answer."
"So the conversation Sophie interrupted wasn't romantic."
"No."
That changed the video in Daniel's mind.
Mark's impatience.
When are you finally divorcing him?
Laura's hand on his chest.
Soon. Just give me a little more time.
She hadn't been reassuring a lover she planned to choose.
She had been controlling him.
"Did she tell you why she needed space?"
"No."
"Did she ever promise to marry you?"
Mark hesitated.
"Not directly."
"Did she ever say you were going to live in the house?"
"I assumed."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Two men.
Different lies.
Same woman.
Mark spoke again.
"Daniel, there's more about the house."
"Of course there is."
"Laura showed it to someone else."
Daniel's pulse shifted.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Man or woman?"
"A man."
Daniel's hand tightened around the phone.
"Another affair?"
"I don't think so."
"Why?"
"He was older. Suit. Lawyer type."
"Her attorney?"
"No."
"Then who?"
"I heard Laura call him Peter."
Daniel knew one Peter.
His stomach dropped.
Peter Bennett.
Daniel's uncle.
His father's younger brother.
A man Daniel hadn't spoken to in almost two years after a brutal family dispute over the company.
"What did he look like?"
Mark described him.
Gray hair.
Tall.
Heavy jaw.
Daniel stared through the window.
It was Peter.
Laura hadn't only been preparing to leave Daniel.
May you like
She had secretly brought Daniel's estranged uncle into whatever she was planning.
And Peter had spent years insisting that Daniel never deserved control of the Bennett company.
Related Stories
