Chapter 7 - Declan Claimed Frederick Was the One Who Started the FraudDeclan agreed to meet.
Not at the family office.
Not at Malcolm's home.
A private dining room inside a hotel near Central Park.
Julian advised against going alone.
Malcolm brought Cassandra.
Declan arrived fifteen minutes late.
Thirty-seven years old.
Expensive navy coat.
No tie.
Same easy smile he'd used since childhood whenever everyone else was furious.
The smile vanished when he saw Cassandra.
"I told Malcolm."
"You didn't say I couldn't come."
Declan sat.
"You stole a drive from my apartment."
"I recovered an envelope with my name on it."
"That's not how property works."
Julian wasn't there, so nobody corrected either sibling.
Malcolm placed the list photograph on the table.
"Start talking."
Declan looked at it.
Then leaned back.
"Dad made that."
"We know."
"He was becoming paranoid."
Cassandra laughed.
"Convenient."
"He was."
"Did he forge our signatures too?"
"No."
"Someone did."
Declan looked at her.
"You're assuming Dad wasn't involved."
Malcolm stared.
"What does that mean?"
Declan sighed.
"The Legacy Trust was a mess."
"How?"
"Dad created side agreements for years."
"Legal?"
"Some."
"Others?"
Declan looked at Malcolm.
"Not exactly."
Cassandra frowned.
"You're saying Frederick committed fraud?"
"I'm saying Dad treated corporate paperwork as flexible."
Malcolm felt anger.
"Evidence?"
Declan took out his phone.
Opened an email.
Frederick to Walter Keene.
Use prior written consent if Malcolm cannot attend. We cannot delay close.
Malcolm stared.
Date: six years earlier.
"What transaction?"
"Acquisition bridge financing."
"Did Walter copy my signature?"
"I don't know."
"Then what does this prove?"
"That Dad taught people signatures were administrative obstacles."
Cassandra looked unsettled.
Their father had been controlling enough for the story to be plausible.
Declan continued.
"Samuel discovered it."
"The accountant."
"Yes."
"He thought Walter had gone too far."
"Had he?"
"Probably."
"Then why are you defending Walter?"
"I'm not."
"You're on every document that benefited from the changes."
Declan's expression hardened.
"I was executive trustee because Dad appointed me."
"Through a potentially forged amendment."
"I watched him sign it."
Malcolm stopped.
"You were there?"
"Yes."
"Who else?"
"Walter."
"Was Dad lucid?"
Declan stared.
"Mostly."
That word changed the room.
"Mostly?"
"He'd been having episodes."
"From what?"
"Medication. Stress. Age."
Malcolm thought of the bottle.
"Did Dad know what he was signing?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
Declan leaned forward.
"He told me Malcolm would destroy the company if he took control."
Malcolm's anger rose.
"Why?"
"Because you hated the family business."
"I hated how Dad ran it."
"Same difference to him."
Cassandra interrupted.
"What did he say about me?"
Declan looked uncomfortable.
"You were too influenced by the foundation."
"Meaning?"
"He thought you cared too much about reputation."
She almost smiled bitterly.
"At least he knew me."
Malcolm returned to the point.
"The ledger."
Declan's expression changed.
"Dad created it when Samuel started challenging old signatures."
"What's inside?"
"Original transaction notes."
"Then why search Harrison's room?"
Declan froze.
Cassandra leaned forward.
"You were there yesterday."
Declan looked at her.
"Who told you?"
"Harrison."
He swore softly.
Malcolm's voice sharpened.
"Were you in his room?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Looking for the ledger."
"Why?"
"Because Walter told me Cordelia might use it to accuse us all."
"Us?"
"Family."
"That's not an answer."
Declan looked at Malcolm.
"The ledger contains evidence Dad authorized practices that would destroy his reputation and expose the company."
Malcolm stared.
"So you wanted to hide it."
"I wanted to review it first."
"Without me."
"Because you'd go straight to regulators."
"Would I be wrong?"
Declan's face hardened.
"You employ twelve thousand people."
"So?"
"So truth doesn't exist in a vacuum."
Malcolm hated the phrase.
Every family scandal eventually produced a speech about innocent employees.
"Did you find it?"
"No."
"Did you search Cordelia's bag?"
"No."
"Did you put anything in her tea?"
Declan went completely still.
Cassandra looked at Malcolm.
"What?"
Malcolm explained the hospital finding.
Declan looked genuinely shocked.
"Cordelia was drugged?"
"She had a medication in her system she says she didn't take."
"I didn't touch her tea."
"Harrison saw you in the kitchen."
"I was."
"Why?"
"Coffee."
"Did you know Dad's old pill bottle was in her bag?"
"No."
Malcolm watched him carefully.
Declan continued.
"I knew she kept evidence. I didn't know what."
"How did you know there was an emergency?"
Declan looked away.
Finally.
The question he'd avoided.
"Security alert."
Malcolm frowned.
"What security alert?"
"I still receive estate notifications."
"You shouldn't."
"I know."
"When Harrison screamed, the living-room sound sensor flagged unusual noise."
Malcolm stared.
The house security system did have acoustic break-glass sensors.
But not scream recognition.
"That doesn't make sense."
Declan sighed.
"Fine."
He reached into his pocket.
Placed a small device on the table.
A home-monitoring app.
"I had access to one interior camera."
Malcolm's anger exploded.
"You were watching my house?"
"Not regularly."
"Why?"
"Because Dad told me to monitor Cordelia."
Cassandra stared.
"When?"
"Before he died."
Malcolm's voice dropped.
"Show me."
Declan opened archived messages.
Frederick had indeed written:
Keep an eye on Cordelia until I understand what she's hiding.
Date: ten days before his death.
Malcolm felt the ground shift again.
Frederick had trusted Cordelia with evidence—
yet asked Declan to watch her.
Was his father playing both sides?
Declan continued.
"Yesterday I checked the camera after leaving. I saw Harrison open the bag. Cordelia rushed in. Then the feed died."
"Why not call me?"
"I called Cassandra."
"Why her?"
"Because if Cordelia had hurt Harrison, I wanted someone closer."
Cassandra stared.
"You could've called police."
"I didn't know what happened."
Malcolm wanted to believe nothing Declan said.
That was dangerous.
Because some of it could be true.
Then Declan leaned toward him.
"You want the part Cordelia hasn't told you?"
Malcolm waited.
"Ask her why Dad's name was already crossed out before he died."
Silence.
Malcolm's pulse changed.
"What?"
Declan pointed to the list.
"That isn't a post-death mark."
"How do you know?"
"I saw it the week before his fall."
Cassandra went pale.
"If Frederick's name was crossed before he died..."
Declan nodded.
"The red line had nothing to do with his death."
Malcolm already knew that.
But Declan wasn't finished.
"It meant Dad discovered his signature had been compromised."
"Yes."
"By who?"
Malcolm stared.
May you like
Declan lowered his voice.
"By Cordelia."
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