Chapter 4 - Daniel’s First BetrayalDaniel stood so abruptly that his chair struck the wall.
“That recording is incomplete.”
Beatrice remained seated.
“Which part would make it better?”
“I didn’t know she was stealing another million dollars.”
“But you told her to hide the statement.”
“The statement for my transfer.”
“The money you stole.”
Daniel flinched.
Laura walked toward the window.
Wesley’s swing set stood beyond the glass.
Twenty-four hours earlier, their son had been locked inside an SUV because of a secret Daniel believed he could control.
“Start at the beginning,” Laura said.
Daniel did.
The original $740,000 transfer had gone directly into Reed Heritage Development.
Daniel used it to make payroll, cover loan covenants, and keep one construction project from defaulting.
He planned to repay Beatrice after selling a parcel in Virginia.
The sale collapsed.
That was when Nadine realized Daniel was trapped.
She began demanding more.
But Daniel insisted he never authorized the $1.3 million transfer.
He believed Nadine had created it using documents from Beatrice’s files.
“Why would she think she could move that much money?” Beatrice asked.
Daniel looked at the floor.
“Because she had access to your online banking security questions.”
Beatrice stared at him.
“How?”
Silence.
“Daniel.”
“I gave them to her.”
Laura closed her eyes.
Beatrice felt strangely calm.
Perhaps there was a point beyond anger where the mind simply became cold.
“You gave my banking security information to the housemaid?”
“I needed her to intercept confirmations.”
“You needed her to help conceal your theft.”
“Yes.”
There it was.
No euphemism.
No excuse.
Ruiz took notes.
Daniel looked at her.
“Am I under arrest?”
“Not at this moment.”
“Should I get a lawyer?”
“Yes.”
Beatrice appreciated Ruiz’s directness.
Daniel looked at his mother.
“I never wanted Wesley involved.”
Beatrice stood.
“That sentence means nothing to me anymore.”
“Mom—”
“You opened the door.”
He stopped.
“Nadine did what she did because you taught her something important about this family.”
“What?”
“That secrets are more valuable here than honesty.”
Daniel looked as though she had struck him.
Beatrice continued.
“She watched you steal from me. She watched you lie to your wife. She watched you manipulate me. And instead of fearing you, she realized she could use you.”
Laura turned around.
“And while you were terrified of your mother finding out about money, Nadine was learning how to impersonate her.”
Daniel sank back into the chair.
Ruiz said investigators were already contacting the bank.
The $1.3 million transfer had not cleared.
A security hold had been placed on it after unusual login behavior.
Nadine had apparently attempted to move the money shortly before putting Wesley into the SUV.
“What account was receiving it?” Beatrice asked.
“A business account registered to Everwood Residential Services.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Neither has your bank.”
The company had been incorporated only six months earlier.
Its registered mailing address was a rented mailbox.
Ruiz stood.
“We’re tracing ownership.”
Beatrice walked with the detective toward the foyer.
Before Ruiz left, she lowered her voice.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Your son’s original transfer may have created criminal exposure for him.”
“I understand.”
“He will probably need independent counsel.”
Beatrice looked back toward the library.
Daniel sat with his head in his hands.
Laura stood several feet away from him.
For the first time since their wedding twelve years earlier, they looked like strangers.
Ruiz followed Beatrice’s gaze.
“Families sometimes try to solve these things privately.”
“This family has done enough privately.”
Ruiz nodded once.
After she left, Beatrice returned to the study.
The room smelled faintly of Daniel’s coffee.
Police had finished photographing it.
One desk drawer remained open.
Beatrice examined the lock.
Scratched.
Someone had forced it.
Inside were old company papers, receipts, and a photograph of Charles holding a toddler-aged Daniel.
Beatrice picked it up.
Her husband had died six years earlier.
He had loved his son.
He had also feared what Daniel became when pride took control.
Charles once told her, He thinks admitting failure is worse than causing it.
Beatrice had defended Daniel.
Now she wondered how many disasters she had helped postpone rather than prevent.
She started replacing papers.
Then she noticed something beneath the drawer.
A strip of blue painter’s tape.
She pulled.
A small brass key dropped into her palm.
Attached to it was a white tag.
Three handwritten numbers.
317.
Beatrice called Ruiz immediately.
May you like
Because the handwriting was Nadine’s.
And whatever Nadine had hidden behind drawer number 317 had been important enough to conceal inside Daniel’s desk.
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