Chapter 6: The Second Account
For three seconds, my father didn't speak.
On the other end of the phone, I could hear my mother's ragged breathing. Behind her, Grant sounded impatient, as if he were standing over her shoulder, waiting for her to finish a conversation that was no longer under his control.
Then Dad leaned toward the phone.
"Laura, put Grant on speaker.""
"He already is," she whispered.
"Good. Grant, I want you to listen carefully. Don't ask Laura to explain anything else.
Don't touch any documents. And don't leave that house until my attorney contacts you.""
Grant laughed nervously.
"Michael, you can't order me around in my own time.""
"You're correct. But I can preserve evidence, notify the appropriate authorities, and make certain no one moves another dollar from the accounts we're investigating.""
Silence.
Then Grant said, "You don't know what you're talking about.""
Dad glanced at Miriam.
She was already writing something in her notebook.
"Then you should have nothing to worry about," Dad replied.
"You're destroying people's lives over a personal issue.""
"No. I'm investigating suspicious transactions involving my company. The personal issue is the reason I discovered them.""
Mom made a small, wounded sound.
"Michael, please. I never wanted this to happen.""
Dad closed his eyes briefly.
"When you signed those documents, did you know where the money was coming from?""
"I thought it was part of the acquisition.""
"That's not what I asked.""
"I didn't know everything.""
"Did you know the account was receiving company funds?""
Another silence.
This one lasted long enough for the answer to become obvious.
"Laura?""
"I knew money was being transferred," she whispered.
"Grant said it was temporary. He said the money would be accounted for when the acquisition closed.""
Dad's jaw tightened.
"How much money?""
"I don't know.""
"How much, Laura?""
"About four hundred thousand dollars.""
Miriam stopped writing.
I stared at my father.
Four hundred thousand dollars.
My mother had been involved in moving four hundred thousand dollars, and she had never mentioned it.
Dad's voice dropped.
"Where is that money now?""
"I don't know.""
Grant interrupted.
"It's in the account, Michael. Nothing has disappeared. You can verify that yourself.""
Miriam immediately shook her head and pointed at the phone, signaling Dad to keep him talking.
Dad understood.
"Which account, Grant?""
Grant hesitated.
"The second account.""
"What bank?""
"I don't remember the exact name.""
"That's interesting. You remembered the account well enough to move money through it.""
"Michael, stop trying to trap me.""
"I'm asking you to identify an account you claim is legitimate.""
Grant's voice hardened.
"Fine. It's at Coastal National. The money is still there. You'll find nothing illegal about it.""
Miriam wrote the bank's name in capital letters.
Then she slid a note toward Dad.
*We need to contact the bank immediately through counsel. No independent account access.*
Dad nodded once.
"Laura, don't touch that account. Don't attempt to withdraw anything. Don't transfer money to another account. Do you understand?""
"Yes.""
"Good. Miriam will arrange for the records to be preserved.""
Grant suddenly shouted, "You have no right to freeze her personal account!""
Dad looked directly at the phone.
"Why are you worried about Laura's personal account?""
Grant stopped speaking.
I watched my father's expression change.
It wasn't satisfaction. It was recognition.
He had found the question Grant couldn't answer without revealing something important.
"You just told me the account was legitimate," Dad continued.
"If it belongs to Laura and contains her money, why would an investigation trouble you?""
"I didn't say it would.""
"You shouted before I finished my sentence.""
Grant muttered something I couldn't understand.
Dad waited.
Finally, Grant said, "Laura knows the account was part of our arrangement.""
Our arrangement.
The words seemed to strike my father physically.
He sat down slowly.
"What arrangement?""
Mom started crying.
"Grant, please don't.""
He ignored her.
"You wanted the truth, Michael. Fine. Laura was supposed to have financial security after you divorced her. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life asking you for permission to buy a pair of shoes.""
"Grant!"" Mom screamed.
I stared at the phone.
Dad remained perfectly still.
For the first time, Grant seemed to realize what he'd admitted.
Then he tried to recover.
"I mean, she deserved to have something of her own. I was helping her.""
"With my company's money?""
"With money that was going to be part of a much larger transaction.""
"And you decided my wife should receive four hundred thousand dollars from it?""
"She was entitled to compensation.""
"For what?""
Grant didn't answer.
Dad leaned forward.
"For what, Grant?""
"I've already said enough.""
"Apparently.""
Mom sobbed into the phone.
"Michael, I didn't think of it like that. Grant said the money was compensation for the work I'd done. He told me I would be a partner in the holding company. He said that once the acquisition closed, I wouldn't have to depend on anyone.""
Dad looked down at the documents spread before him.
"Did you believe you were entitled to that money because you had helped him transfer company funds?""
"No!""
"Did you believe you were entitled to voting rights in a company you had never invested in?""
"I didn't understand what the papers meant!""
"Yet you signed them.""
Mom fell silent.
I wanted to defend her. Some part of me still wanted to believe that the woman who had packed my school lunches and sat beside my bed when I was sick couldn't have knowingly participated in something like this.
But every time she spoke, another piece of that belief disappeared.
Dad rubbed his forehead.
"Laura, I'm going to ask you one more question. Did Grant promise to marry you?""
Mom made a choking sound.
"What?""
"Did he tell you that he would leave his wife and start a new life with you once the deal closed?""
The silence that followed was devastating.
Finally, Mom whispered, "Yes.""
Grant erupted.
"That is not what I said!""
Mom's voice suddenly grew louder.
"You told me we'd buy a house. You said we'd leave Connecticut. You told me everything would be different after the closing!""
"I said we'd see what happened!""
"You said you loved me!""
"Laura, don't do this.""
She let out a bitter laugh through her tears.
"Don't do what? Tell him what you promised me?""
Dad lifted one hand, signaling her to stop.
"Did you believe Grant intended to marry you?""
"Yes.""
"And did you believe the money in that account would become yours?""
"Yes.""
Dad nodded slowly.
Then he asked, "Did you understand that the acquisition documents concealed the identity of the actual owner of the holding company?""
Mom didn't respond.
Miriam moved closer to the phone.
"Laura, this is Miriam Shaw, the company's general counsel. I need you to answer that question honestly. Did you understand that the holding company was being used to exercise voting rights in the acquisition?""
"No," Mom whispered.
"I thought it was an investment company.""
"Did you know who owned it?""
"Grant said he was helping organize it.""
Miriam exchanged a glance with Dad.
"That isn't what I asked.""
"I didn't know!""
Dad took a deep breath.
"Laura, we're going to arrange for you to speak with independent counsel. You should not discuss the documents with Grant anymore.""
Grant cut in.
"Michael, if you do this, there's no going back.""
Dad's eyes narrowed.
"There was no going back when you walked into my home and kissed my wife.""
"This has nothing to do with that.""
"You're right. It has to do with fraud, unauthorized transactions, and documents bearing signatures that may have been falsified.""
"You can't prove I did any of that.""
"Then let the investigation establish the facts.""
Grant's breathing became audible through the phone.
Suddenly, the call ended.
Dad stared at the blank screen.
"Did he hang up?"" I asked.
"Someone did.""
His phone rang again almost immediately.
An unknown number appeared.
Dad answered.
"Michael Hayes.""
A man spoke rapidly on the other end.
Dad listened without interrupting.
Then his face drained of color.
"You're certain?""
The man continued.
"When did it happen?""
Another pause.
"Was anything removed?""
Dad stood.
"Secure the building. Don't confront him. Call the authorities and preserve the entry footage.""
He ended the call and reached for his jacket.
"What happened?"" I asked.
Dad looked at Miriam.
"Peter Lang just entered our headquarters using a visitor badge under another name.""
"But he said he was sick," I replied.
"He lied.""
Miriam gathered the documents.
"Security has him on camera. He went straight to the finance department.""
Dad headed for the door.
"Then we're going to find out what he was looking for.""
I hurried after him.
As the elevator doors closed, Dad's phone buzzed with a new message.
He read it once.
Then he turned the screen toward Miriam.
It was a bank notification confirming that someone had attempted to transfer the entire balance of Laura's second account.
The transfer had been blocked pending verification.
The requested destination was not another domestic account.
It was an account registered overseas.
May you like
And the person who had initiated the transfer wasn't my mother.
It was Peter Lang.