Chapter 4 - Margaret's Key
Thomas Morgan met them at the storage facility an hour later.
Daniel had changed clothes.
Rachel brought Ellie because the little girl refused to let either parent leave.
Thomas knelt when he saw her.
“There's my favorite person.”
Ellie hugged him.
Thomas's eyes filled.
“I heard you had a difficult night.”
Ellie nodded.
“Mommy got really mad.”
Rachel looked away.
Thomas wisely avoided that subject.
Instead, he held out his palm.
“May I see Grandma's key?”
Ellie placed it in his hand.
Thomas examined it.
His expression shifted.
“I've seen this before.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Where?”
“Your mother's desk.”
Rachel frowned.
“The desk at the old house?”
Thomas nodded.
“She kept a locked drawer.”
“Do we still have it?”
Thomas pointed toward the storage unit.
“It's in there.”
The unit was packed with furniture covered in sheets.
Boxes climbed nearly to the ceiling.
Thomas led them toward the back.
Margaret's mahogany writing desk stood behind two armchairs.
Daniel pulled it forward.
The top drawer opened easily.
The second did not.
Thomas inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
Rachel felt an inexplicable chill.
Inside were three folders.
One envelope.
And a small digital recorder.
Daniel picked up the envelope.
His name was written across the front.
Daniel.
Nothing else.
He opened it.
The first page contained Margaret's handwriting.
If you are reading this, then I did not get the opportunity to explain things myself.
Daniel sat down.
Rachel stood beside him.
Thomas took Ellie toward the front of the unit.
Daniel continued reading.
I need you to understand that what I found does not mean your marriage must end.
Rachel's chest tightened.
But it does mean you and Rachel must know the truth before making permanent decisions.
Daniel looked at Rachel.
They continued.
Three months ago, I noticed a payment leaving one of the family trust accounts.
The payment was authorized using Rachel's electronic signature.
Rachel stared.
“What?”
Daniel kept reading.
I asked Rachel about it indirectly.
Her answers convinced me she knew nothing about the transaction.
I began looking deeper.
What I discovered frightened me.
Daniel stopped.
Rachel grabbed the next page.
There were transfers from an investment account Rachel had opened before marrying Daniel.
The account had helped finance the early stages of Morgan Development Group.
Both Daniel and Rachel had access during their marriage.
Rachel had forgotten about it after separating.
Margaret had found repeated withdrawals.
Some small.
Some enormous.
Every withdrawal had been approved under Rachel's credentials.
Rachel's knees weakened.
“I never authorized them.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I know.”
“How much?”
He turned the page.
Margaret had written a number.
$2,840,000.
Rachel sat down.
“That isn't possible.”
Daniel looked sick.
“My company received some early investments, but I thought they came from a private family account.”
“Whose account?”
“My father handled it.”
Thomas returned.
“What?”
Daniel handed him the letter.
Thomas read silently.
His expression became confused.
“I never transferred this money.”
Daniel frowned.
“You told me the early funding came from family.”
“It did.”
“How much?”
“Eight hundred thousand.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“Then where did the rest come from?”
Rachel looked at the folders.
They contained copies of transfer records.
Each had her digital signature.
Each moved money from an investment structure Rachel's late grandfather created for her when she turned eighteen.
Rachel had assumed the account was almost empty.
Apparently, it had not been.
“Who had access?”
Thomas asked.
Rachel thought.
“My accountant.”
“Who?”
“Evan Collins.”
Daniel's head snapped up.
Evan had once been Rachel and Daniel's shared accountant.
After their divorce, Vanessa had hired him to manage several personal matters for Daniel.
Rachel felt the connection instantly.
“When did Vanessa start using Evan?”
“Last year.”
“Did she know he used to work for us?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I told her.”
Rachel stood.
A terrible idea was forming.
“What if your mother wasn't investigating our marriage?”
Daniel looked at her.
“What if she was investigating the money?”
Thomas lifted the digital recorder.
“Then perhaps this tells us why.”
He pressed play.
Static filled the storage unit.
Then Margaret's voice appeared.
“April fourteenth.”
She sounded tired.
“I met Evan Collins today.”
Daniel's hands tightened.
“He denied everything.”
A pause.
“But he made one mistake.”
Another pause.
“He said Rachel approved the transfers because she wanted Daniel's company to survive.”
Margaret breathed slowly.
“Rachel never told him the company was in trouble.”
Daniel stared at Rachel.
Neither had remembered that detail.
In the company's earliest year, Morgan Development had nearly collapsed.
Only a handful of people knew.
Margaret continued.
“Someone gave Evan information from inside Daniel's company.”
The recording crackled.
“I believe the person who did this is still close to Daniel.”
The next words made Thomas sit down.
“And I believe they are waiting for Daniel's business to become valuable before taking what they really want.”
The recording ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Daniel's phone buzzed.
A message from Marcus appeared.
You need to see this now.
Daniel opened the attachment.
It was a photograph from the wedding.
Vanessa stood near the ballroom entrance.
Beside her was a man wearing a dark suit.
Rachel recognized him immediately.
May you like
Evan Collins.
The timestamp showed the photograph had been taken thirty minutes before Ellie disappeared beneath the table.
