CHAPTER 3: THE REAL CONSPIRACY
CHAPTER 3: THE REAL CONSPIRACY
The silence that followed Daniel's question was heavier than the snow piling against the windows.
Grant stared at the financial records as though they had been written in a language he no longer understood.
Finally, he forced a laugh.
"You've lost your mind."
Daniel folded his arms.
"Then explain the transfers."
Grant didn't.
Instead, he looked toward their mother.
Margaret immediately stepped in.
"This isn't the time to discuss business."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"Funny. You thought Thanksgiving was the perfect time to accuse my wife of adultery."
No one at the table dared interrupt.
Emma held Lily close, rocking her gently while trying to understand what was happening.
She had walked into dinner believing she was the target.
Now she realized she had merely been the distraction.
Daniel slid another document across the table.
"Two million dollars disappeared from the Bennett Family Foundation."
Grant refused to touch it.
"The money didn't disappear."
"Oh?"
"It was... invested."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"In a company owned by your wife's brother."
Vanessa's breathing caught.
Every pair of eyes snapped toward her.
Her younger brother, Kyle.
The unemployed "entrepreneur" who had somehow purchased a luxury penthouse six months earlier.
Emma remembered wondering where the money had come from.
Now she knew.
Vanessa slammed her hands onto the table.
"That investment was legal!"
Daniel calmly replied,
"Then why did you forge documents to hide it?"
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Daniel reached into the folder again.
"I hired forensic accountants after someone tried accessing Father's trust."
Margaret's face drained of color.
"You investigated your own family?"
"I investigated whoever was stealing from it."
Grant suddenly exploded.
"That foundation belongs to us!"
Daniel turned.
"No."
"It belongs to every scholarship student your father promised to help."
He pointed toward the paperwork.
"You stole money meant for children."
The accusation landed like thunder.
Emma saw several relatives exchange horrified glances.
Grant had always portrayed himself as the responsible son.
The future head of the family.
Now that image cracked before everyone's eyes.
Vanessa tried another approach.
"This is all circumstantial."
Daniel smiled for the first time.
"No."
He removed a small digital recorder.
"This isn't."
He pressed play.
Vanessa's voice filled the room.
"Once everyone believes Emma cheated, Daniel will never question the trust documents."
Another voice.
Grant.
"By the time he gets back from Europe, the money will already be overseas."
Emma stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
Vanessa laughed.
"His precious wife will be too busy defending herself."
Daniel switched it off.
The silence afterward was unbearable.
Grant's face turned gray.
Margaret gripped the edge of the table.
"Where did you get that?"
Daniel answered simply.
"Your son's office."
Grant stood so fast his chair crashed backward.
"You planted that!"
"No."
Daniel looked him straight in the eye.
"You invited me there."
Grant blinked.
"What?"
"You asked me to review next year's charitable budget."
Daniel pulled another paper from the folder.
"The recorder activated automatically after our meeting."
Grant suddenly remembered.
He and Vanessa had stayed behind in the office after Daniel left.
Except...
Daniel hadn't actually left.
He had forgotten his coat.
Long enough to hear everything.
Emma watched realization spread across Grant's face.
He had trapped himself.
Vanessa suddenly reached for the recorder.
Daniel caught her wrist before she could touch it.
His grip wasn't violent.
Just firm.
"You've destroyed enough evidence."
She jerked away.
"I want my lawyer."
Daniel nodded.
"That's a good idea."
Then he looked toward the front hallway.
"They're already here."
The doorbell rang.
Every person at the table flinched.
A butler hurried toward the entrance.
Seconds later...
Two detectives.
One attorney.
And a forensic accountant walked into the dining room.
May you like
Daniel hadn't come home alone.
He had brought witnesses.
