Chapter 8: The Company Before the Company
Dad spent the next morning on the phone.
He called the independent reviewer, his business attorney, and a records specialist who could help reconstruct the company's early financial history. He didn't accuse anyone. He asked questions, requested documentation, and wrote down every answer.
I watched him from the doorway of his office.
He had always been the kind of man who fixed things by getting up early and working until the problem was solved.
A broken fence? He repaired it.
A late payment? He called the customer.
A car that wouldn't start? He opened the hood and kept trying until he understood the problem.
But this wasn't a broken fence or an overdue invoice.
This was a tangle of records, old relationships, missing money, and people he had trusted.
At ten-thirty, he finally put his phone down.
“Are you okay?”” I asked.
He looked at me and smiled faintly.
“I'm functioning.””
“That's not what I asked.””
He let out a tired breath.
“No, baby. I'm not okay.””
I sat across from him.
“Do you think Denise knew what was happening?””
“I think there are questions we need answered. The photograph proves she knew Derek before I hired her. It doesn't prove she participated in anything improper.””
“But she prepared the agreement.””
“Yes.””
“And her name is on the old business sign.””
“Yes.””
“Doesn't that mean something?””
“It means something worth investigating.””
I looked at the papers spread across his desk.
“Dad, what if the person who stole the money is the person helping you find it?””
He was quiet for a long moment.
“Then the evidence will matter more than their job title or how long I've known them.””
At eleven, Denise arrived at the house.
She carried no laptop this time.
Instead, she brought a folder and a small notebook. Her face was composed, but she looked as though she hadn't slept much.
Dad met her in the dining room.
“Sit down, Denise.””
She placed the folder on the table.
“Marcus, I understand why you have questions.””
“Good. Then let's start with Carter Financial Services.””
Her eyes moved briefly toward me.
“Can Nia be somewhere else while we discuss the old business?””
“No,” Dad said.
“The investigation concerns money taken from her college savings, too. She's entitled to understand what affects her.””
Denise lowered herself into the chair.
“All right.””
Dad placed the old photograph in front of her.
“Do you remember this?””
She looked at it.
“Yes.””
“You and Derek were working together?””
“Not exactly.””
“Then explain.””
Denise folded her hands.
“Carter Financial Services was a small bookkeeping and business-administration firm. It wasn't a bank or an investment company. I helped with recordkeeping for several small businesses, and Derek was one of the people I met through that work.””
“Were you his business partner?””
“No.””
“Did you handle his money?””
“I maintained some records for businesses he introduced to me. I didn't control their accounts.””
Dad leaned forward.
“Did you know he was involved in an investment arrangement with Celeste?””
Denise's face tightened.
“Yes.””
“When did you find out?””
“After Celeste contacted me about a financial problem.””
“What kind of problem?””
“She said she'd invested money with Derek and wanted to understand what had happened to it.””
Dad stared at her.
“And you didn't tell me?””
“I didn't know the arrangement involved your company at first.””
“When did you find out?””
Denise opened her folder.
“I found a transaction that didn't match the supporting documentation. I asked Celeste for clarification. She told me it was part of an agreement that had already been approved.””
“Approved by whom?””
“She said you had approved it.””
Dad's jaw tightened.
“Did you verify that?””
“Not as thoroughly as I should have.””
The admission hung between them.
Dad sat back.
“Why not?””
Denise looked down at the notebook.
“I believed the document had been reviewed through the normal administrative process. I had worked with you for years, and I didn't think anyone would attach your name to an agreement without your permission.””
“That's not verification.””
“No,” she said quietly.
“It isn't.””
For the first time, she looked genuinely ashamed.
“I should have stopped the transaction and requested direct confirmation from you. I didn't. That was a serious failure in my work.””
Dad stared at her for several seconds.
“Did you receive any money?””
“No.””
“Did Derek pay you?””
“No.””
“Did Celeste?””
“No.””
“Do you have any financial interest in the disputed account?””
“No.””
Dad nodded once.
“Those answers will need to be verified independently.””
“I understand.””
He slid the old photograph toward her.
“What was the date of this picture?””
“Eleven years ago.””
“And what happened to Carter Financial Services?””
Denise took a breath.
“I closed it after a dispute involving Derek and several clients. I wasn't accused of stealing their money, but the experience damaged my reputation. I stopped taking on new clients and eventually went back to working in company accounting.””
“Did you report Derek?””
“I submitted records when a client requested them. I didn't have enough evidence to accuse him of a crime.””
Dad glanced at the photograph again.
“Then why did you hire him as a consultant for my company?””
“I didn't hire him. You did.””
Dad went still.
“What?””
Denise opened the folder and removed an old email printout.
“You contacted him about a potential consulting arrangement when your company was starting out. I handled the administrative paperwork because I was helping organize the company's initial records.””
Dad read the email.
His expression changed.
“I don't remember this.””
“I know.””
“Was this before or after I founded the company?””
“Before the company was formally registered.””
Dad read the page again.
“I thought Derek had introduced me to a supplier. I didn't know he was offering consulting services.””
Denise nodded.
“He described it as a business-development arrangement. I prepared a draft based on the information he provided.””
“Did I sign it?””
“The archived copy contains a signature attributed to you.””
Dad looked up.
“But you don't know whether I signed it?””
“No. I can't confirm that.””
He pushed the page away.
“Why didn't you tell me any of this when you found the disputed transactions?””
“I was trying to establish whether the new transfers were connected to the old agreement. I didn't want to give you a theory before I had the records.””
“And while you were doing that, my daughter's savings disappeared.””
Denise's face tightened.
“I understand.””
“No,” Dad said, his voice rising.
“You understand the words. I don't know whether you understand what they mean.””
She lowered her eyes.
“I can't undo what happened. I can give the reviewer every record I have and cooperate fully.””
Dad stood and walked to the window.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he turned.
“Did you prepare the agreement that carries my signature?””
“I prepared the document using information Derek supplied. I didn't sign your name.””
“Did you know the signature might be unauthorized?””
“No.””
“Did you ever question it?””
Denise hesitated.
“Yes.””
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“When?””
“When I reviewed the archived version last week. The signature looked different from the one on other documents from that period.””
The room went silent.
Dad returned to the table.
“And you didn't tell me?””
“I was waiting to compare it with the original.””
“Denise, you should have told me immediately.””
“Yes.””
She didn't argue.
That, somehow, made Dad look even more exhausted.
He closed the folder.
“The reviewer will handle the document examination. Until the review is complete, you won't process any transactions for the company. Please provide every original record and every message related to Derek, Celeste, or the disputed agreement.””
Denise nodded.
“I will.””
She gathered her notebook but left the folder on the table.
Before leaving, she turned toward me.
“Nia, I am sorry that your savings were affected. You shouldn't have had to discover this on your birthday.””
I looked at her.
“Did you know my money was missing?””
“No. I discovered the transaction after reviewing the account information.””
“Could you have stopped it?””
Denise's eyes filled with regret.
“I don't know. I should have investigated the irregularities earlier. I can tell you that I failed to question records that deserved more scrutiny.””
I didn't know what to say.
She left the house quietly.
Dad remained standing in the dining room, staring at the folder.
“Do you believe her?”” I asked.
“I believe she has told us some things we can verify. Whether she's told us everything is another question.””
He picked up his phone and called the reviewer.
They spoke for nearly twenty minutes.
When he hung up, he looked at me.
“The original agreement and the company records will need a formal examination. We're also going to trace the money, transaction by transaction.””
“How long will that take?””
“I don't know.””
I swallowed.
“Will we ever know who did it?””
“We'll keep following the evidence.””
That afternoon, Dad took me to a small diner near his office. He said we both needed to eat something that wasn't a sandwich grabbed between phone calls.
I ordered grilled cheese and fries.
He ordered a burger but barely touched it.
For a while, we talked about school. He asked about my English assignment, and I told him my teacher wanted us to write about a moment that changed how we saw the world.
Dad gave a tired smile.
“You certainly have material now.””
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Then his phone buzzed.
An email from the independent reviewer had arrived.
He opened it, scanned the first page, and stopped at a section marked Historical Transaction Reconciliation.
“What is it?”” I asked.
“The reviewer traced one of the disputed payments to an account used in the original business arrangement.””
“Derek's account?””
“Not directly. The payment went through an intermediary account.””
“Whose?””
Dad read the line again.
“Carter Financial Services.””
I stared at him.
“But that was Denise's old business.””
“Yes.””
“Does that mean she took the money?””
“Not necessarily. The account could have been used for administrative purposes, and we need the original banking records to establish who controlled the funds.””
He scrolled farther.
A note beneath the transaction stated that the intermediary account had been closed years earlier, but a linked reference appeared in more recent company records.
Dad's expression tightened.
“There's a connection to a current account.””
“Whose account?””
“The reviewer hasn't confirmed the holder yet.””
I felt a familiar chill.
The same feeling I'd had when I first saw the balance of my college savings.
Dad read the report to the end, then called the reviewer again.
When he finished, he looked at me.
“The next step is to obtain the full account records through the proper channels. We need to see where the money went after it left the company.””
I stared at the diner table.
“Dad, what if it went to Celeste?””
“Then we'll deal with that.””
“What if it went to Denise?””
“Then we'll deal with that, too.””
“What if it went to someone else?””
He reached across the table and took my hand.
“Then we'll find out who.””
We drove home in silence.
At the house, Dad went straight to his office while I headed upstairs to finish my homework.
I had just opened my notebook when my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then I remembered the earlier messages and answered without speaking.
A man's voice came through.
“Nia Brooks?””
My stomach tightened.
“Who is this?””
“My name is Derek.””
I gripped the phone.
“What do you want?””
“I want to correct something your father believes about me.””
“Then call him.””
“I have. He won't listen.””
“That's because you won't tell the truth.””
There was a brief silence.
Then Derek said, “Your stepmother made a mistake, but she wasn't the person who designed the arrangement.””
“Who did?””
“I can show you.””
“No.””
“Nia, listen to me. There's a document your father hasn't seen. It explains why the original agreement was created and who stood to benefit.””
I felt my pulse pounding in my ears.
“Send it to Dad.””
“I will. But you need to understand something first.””
“What?””
“The account that received the money wasn't opened in Celeste's name.””
I froze.
“What are you talking about?””
“The account your father is investigating. The one connected to the old agreement.””
“Whose name is on it?””
Derek exhaled.
“Ask your father to look at the beneficiary record.””
Then he hung up.
I sat on my bed, staring at the phone.
A minute later, I heard Dad's office door open.
He called my name.
I ran downstairs.
He was standing at his desk with an email open on the computer.
“Derek sent the reviewer a new document,” he said.
I approached the screen.
The document contained a reference to the disputed account and a section identifying its designated beneficiary.
Dad read the name silently.
Then he looked at me.
For the first time since the mystery began, I saw something in his expression that wasn't anger, fear, or exhaustion.
It was disbelief.
Because the beneficiary wasn't Celeste.
It wasn't Denise.
It wasn't Derek.
It was someone who had been part of our family long before any of them entered our lives.
May you like
Someone whose name should never have appeared in a financial investigation.
*My mother.*
