Chapter 9 - LEONARD’S SONLeonard Sloane’s son, Peter Sloane, owned a small consulting company.
At least on paper.
It had received $620,000 from Cresthaven.
Peter was twenty-eight.
No employees.
No office.
He lived in Miami.
When investigators contacted him, he panicked.
Within a day he admitted the company was his father’s.
Leonard used Peter’s name because he did not want payments tied directly to the Kingsley estate administrator.
“For what services?”
Peter answered:
“I don’t know.”
His father told him the money was legitimate.
He kept ten percent.
Forwarded the rest to accounts Leonard controlled.
Financial laundering through family.
Leonard’s total benefit:
Approximately $530,000.
Enough motive to hide fraud.
Not enough obvious motive to kill.
Until another transfer appeared.
Two days after Amelia died:
$1.2 million transferred from Cresthaven into a trust controlled by Leonard.
The transfer had been scheduled earlier.
Payment memo:
FINAL PROJECT SUCCESS FEE.
Harrison stared.
Success.
What project?
Bennett Voss denied knowledge.
Julian claimed ignorance.
Leonard refused to answer without counsel.
Then investigators recovered deleted emails.
Leonard to an encrypted address:
If A proceeds tomorrow, everything collapses.
Reply:
She won’t.
Leonard:
You’re certain?
Reply:
Yes.
The sender identity remained unknown.
A.
Amelia.
Tomorrow.
Her scheduled trust-lawyer meeting.
She was about to change documents and likely expose fraud.
Someone assured Leonard she would not.
Harrison felt the investigation narrow.
But who sent it?
Julian?
Dr. Voss?
Someone else?
The encrypted service masked obvious data.
Then Amelia’s laptop revealed one more thing.
She had drafted an email to Harrison.
Never sent.
Dad, I think Julian knows about the fake invoices, but I’m not sure he started them. Leonard is terrified. Samuel keeps telling me to rest. There is someone else who keeps benefiting every time Julian signs something. I need you home.
Someone else.
Again.
Who?
The bank statements held the answer.
Cresthaven money flowed onward to a private investment partnership.
Ridgewell Capital.
Beneficial owner:
Marianne Harrow.
Julian’s mother.
Harrison stared.
He had met Marianne only a handful of times.
Elegant.
Wealthy.
Former private-equity executive.
She had introduced Julian to Amelia at a charity dinner four years earlier.
Ridgewell had received $2.4 million from Cresthaven.
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Now the conspiracy had a fourth person.
And perhaps the person above them all.
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