Chapter 11 - The Engagement Dinner
Daniel canceled the signing ceremony.
He did not tell Vanessa.
Instead, he announced that the family engagement dinner would proceed as planned.
Emily thought he had lost his mind.
Daniel explained.
“If Vanessa knows we found the ledger, she disappears.”
“She already knows we’re investigating.”
“She doesn’t know how much we found.”
Detective Reed agreed.
They needed Vanessa to expose who was helping her.
Because the recent transfers could not have been completed alone.
The engagement dinner began at eight.
Thirty guests arrived.
Vanessa descended the staircase wearing a silver evening gown.
She looked composed.
Elegant.
Untouchable.
Emily watched from the service corridor.
She had refused to wear her housekeeping uniform.
She was no longer working that night.
She was there as a witness.
Daniel raised a glass.
“To truth.”
Vanessa’s smile tightened.
“To family.”
Dinner began.
Halfway through the first course, Margaret deliberately mentioned the trust.
“The final signatures will need to be delayed.”
Vanessa’s fork stopped.
“Why?”
“An accounting issue.”
“What kind of issue?”
“Old transfers.”
Vanessa looked at Daniel.
He continued eating.
“I can review them.”
Margaret shook her head.
“Our lawyers will handle it.”
Vanessa smiled.
“Of course.”
But her hand moved beneath the table.
Emily watched from the doorway.
Vanessa was texting someone.
Detective Reed, sitting in an unmarked vehicle outside, received the message from a cloned monitoring device authorized for the investigation.
Four words appeared.
They found the ledger.
Then another message.
Burn the archive tonight.
Reed called Daniel immediately.
Daniel excused himself.
Emily followed.
“What archive?”
Daniel’s face went pale.
“The Hawthorne Foundation stores twenty years of financial records in the old carriage house.”
They ran outside.
May you like
Smoke was already rising behind the mansion.
Someone had reached the archive first.
