Chapter 9 - Margaret's Signature
Margaret insisted she had never authorized the transfer.
Detective Reed believed that possibility.
He also made something painfully clear.
Her signature had been used.
Twenty-one years earlier, two million dollars had moved from a Hawthorne corporate reserve account into a series of offshore companies.
Each transfer carried Margaret Hawthorne’s authorization code.
Laura had been blamed because her login credentials appeared in the internal system.
Margaret had been positioned as the victim.
Laura had been positioned as the thief.
Victor had remained untouched.
Emily sat at the long dining table while Reed spread documents across the surface.
“Your mother discovered the transfers after they happened.”
Reed tapped one statement.
“She reported them internally.”
Daniel frowned.
“To my father?”
“According to this note, yes.”
Margaret stared at the paper.
“Richard told me she confessed.”
Emily looked at her.
“He lied to you.”
Margaret nodded slowly.
The realization seemed to hurt more than any accusation.
Reed turned toward Emily.
“If we can establish that Victor forged these approvals, your mother’s name can be formally cleared.”
“What about Richard?”
“That depends on whether he participated or covered it up.”
Daniel leaned back.
His father had been dead for five years.
To the world, Richard Hawthorne remained a respected businessman and philanthropist.
Inside the mansion, his portrait hung above the fireplace.
Now Daniel looked at it differently.
A staff member entered.
“Mr. Hawthorne.”
Daniel turned.
“There’s a delivery for Miss Parker.”
Emily frowned.
“For me?”
The package contained no return address.
Inside was a cheap burner phone.
The phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Emily answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
“Stop asking about Laura.”
Emily’s fingers tightened.
“Who is this?”
“You have something that does not belong to you.”
“The cassette?”
Silence.
Then the voice answered.
“The ledger.”
Emily looked at Daniel.
They had no ledger.
“What ledger?”
The caller hesitated.
That hesitation told Emily everything.
Something more existed.
Something important enough to frighten whoever was calling.
Emily spoke carefully.
“If you want it, come get it.”
The caller laughed.
“You sound like your mother.”
Then the line went dead.
Detective Reed immediately took the phone.
Daniel looked toward Emily.
“There was no ledger in the box.”
Emily remembered her mother’s letter.
She had copied everything.
“Then she hid it somewhere else.”
May you like
Margaret suddenly stood.
“I know where.”
