CHAPTER 4 – Follow the Money
CHAPTER 4 – Follow the Money
There was a long silence on the other end of the call.
Finally Martin spoke.
"Tell me what you're thinking."
Chloe stood by the kitchen window, watching Kyle back his truck out of the driveway.
"We let the loan go through."
Martin almost shouted.
"Absolutely not."
"Listen to me."
"If we stop the transfer now, we only prove Kyle attempted fraud."
"And that's enough."
"No."
Her voice became calm.
"I don't want attempted fraud."
"I want organized fraud."
"I want every person involved."
Martin remained silent.
She continued.
"Kyle isn't smart enough to build shell companies by himself."
"He isn't experienced enough to move millions without help."
"Someone taught him."
"And I want that someone."
After several seconds, Martin finally answered.
"I'll admit..."
"That makes sense."
"So?"
"We follow every dollar."
At exactly 9:07 Monday morning, Martin called.
"It's done."
"The funds were released."
Chloe closed her eyes.
Three million dollars.
Everything her father had worked for over forty years.
Gone with the click of a button.
"Now what?"
Martin's fingers flew across his keyboard.
"I'm watching the transfers."
Five minutes passed.
Nothing.
Then—
"There!"
"What?"
"The money just moved."
"How much?"
"All of it."
"To where?"
Martin frowned at the screen.
"It didn't stay in Kyle's consulting company."
"It was wired somewhere else."
"Where?"
He enlarged the transaction.
His expression changed.
"Oh..."
"What?"
"This is bigger than we thought."
"How big?"
"The money went into an investment trust."
"Whose trust?"
Martin slowly read the name.
"Sterling Legacy Holdings."
"I've heard that name before."
"You have."
"It's one of Arizona's largest private wealth management firms."
Chloe felt confused.
"Why would Kyle send stolen money there?"
Martin didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he searched deeper into the records.
Then he whispered,
"...Because someone inside helped create the account."
Two hours later Chloe met Martin inside his office.
Stacks of documents covered the conference table.
"This trust account wasn't opened last week."
He slid one file toward her.
"It was opened eleven months ago."
She frowned.
"Before my business trip?"
"Long before."
Another file.
"The shell company."
Created nine months earlier.
Another.
The business license.
Issued eight months earlier.
Another.
Tax records.
Insurance.
Corporate banking.
Everything was legitimate.
Everything had been planned.
Kyle hadn't suddenly decided to steal from her father.
He had spent nearly a year preparing.
That realization hurt more than the theft itself.
Every anniversary dinner.
Every vacation.
Every "I love you."
He had already been building the trap.
Martin's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression hardened.
"What?"
He stood abruptly.
"When?"
He hung up.
"What happened?"
"My investigator just called."
"About Kyle?"
"No."
"About Susan."
"What did she do?"
Martin handed Chloe another photograph.
Susan was leaving Sterling Legacy Holdings.
She wasn't alone.
Walking beside her was a sharply dressed man in his sixties.
Gray hair.
Designer suit.
Expensive watch.
Martin pointed to him.
"That's Richard Holloway."
"Who is he?"
"Senior vice president."
"Of Sterling Legacy."
Chloe stared at the picture.
"So Susan knows him?"
Martin nodded.
"They weren't meeting for the first time."
"They hugged."
"They laughed."
"They left together."
"This wasn't business."
A horrible possibility formed.
"How long have they known each other?"
Martin looked at another report.
"At least fifteen years."
Fifteen years.
Long before Chloe had ever met Kyle.
Long before the wedding.
Long before Susan welcomed her into the family with warm smiles and fake affection.
This wasn't Kyle's plan.
Kyle had inherited it.
Susan had been preparing the game long before her son ever played it.
Martin slowly closed the file.
"Chloe..."
"I think your husband isn't the mastermind."
She looked up.
"Then who is?"
Martin's answer made the room fall silent.
"I think your mother-in-law has done this before."
The air seemed to disappear from the room.
"If that's true..."
Chloe whispered.
"...then my father isn't their first victim."
Martin nodded grimly.
"And if we prove that..."
He looked directly into her eyes.
May you like
"This won't just destroy your marriage."
"It could send several powerful people to prison for the rest of their lives."
