Chapter 9: The Betrayal Nobody Expected
For several seconds, my father didn't speak.
He stared at the bank notification on Evelyn's phone.
Then he slowly looked at Raymond.
"How did you get my authorization code?""
Raymond shrugged.
"Perhaps you should ask the people who have access to your personal information.""
Dad's voice hardened.
"Only three people have access.""
Evelyn looked up.
"Who?""
"Me. Patricia. And Danielle.""
I shook my head.
"I've never had your banking authorization.""
Dad nodded.
"I know.""
Patricia began crying again.
"I don't have it either, Marcus.""
Raymond smiled.
"Then perhaps somebody needs to investigate more carefully.""
Thomas opened his laptop.
"The bank should have an authentication record. We can determine which device submitted the request.""
Evelyn nodded.
"Get it.""
The security chief made another call.
Meanwhile, I sat beside Micah.
He had woken up again and was looking around the room with wide eyes.
I stroked his cheek.
"Almost done, sweetheart.""
My father approached.
"Danielle, I'm sorry.""
I looked up.
"For what?""
"For bringing you into this.""
I shook my head.
"You didn't bring me into it. They did.""
He sat beside me.
"Still, I should have seen what was happening.""
I looked at him.
"Dad, you trusted people. That's not a crime.""
He gave a sad smile.
"Sometimes trusting the wrong people becomes expensive.""
I squeezed his hand.
"Then let's make sure nobody else pays for it.""
He nodded.
Across the room, Evelyn was speaking with the bank.
Thomas had opened a secure connection to the finance office.
Richard was answering questions from a compliance officer.
Victoria sat silently in a chair.
Raymond stood near the door, looking increasingly irritated.
Then Thomas spoke.
"I've got the authentication record.""
Everybody turned.
He rotated the laptop.
The report displayed the time of the attempted transfer.
The device identifier.
And the location from which the request had originated.
Evelyn leaned closer.
"Where?""
Thomas zoomed in.
"The executive office.""
Richard frowned.
"That office is locked.""
Thomas checked the device name.
"No. It's the desktop computer assigned to the executive assistant.""
Patricia covered her mouth.
"That's my computer.""
Dad looked at her.
"Who has access?""
"Me, Marcus. And your brother when he visits.""
Raymond immediately interrupted.
"I haven't touched that computer in months.""
Thomas looked at the report.
"The authentication was completed using a physical security token.""
Evelyn frowned.
"Whose token?""
Thomas checked the serial number.
Then he looked at my father.
"It's registered to Patricia.""
Patricia shook her head.
"That's impossible. I keep it in a locked drawer.""
Raymond laughed.
"Maybe you should have locked the drawer better.""
Patricia turned toward him.
"You told me the token had been replaced!""
The room went silent.
Dad looked at her.
"What?""
Patricia's hands trembled.
"Three weeks ago, Raymond told me the old token had been compromised. He asked me to give him the device so he could have it replaced.""
Raymond's expression changed.
Patricia continued.
"He returned it the next morning. He said everything was fine.""
Evelyn immediately wrote something down.
"Did you report the exchange?""
"No. I trusted him.""
Raymond shook his head.
"That's ridiculous.""
Thomas examined the authentication log again.
"There's something else.""
He clicked another tab.
"The transfer request was created from the executive office, but the final approval came from a different device.""
Dad leaned forward.
"Which device?""
Thomas read the identifier.
Then he looked at Richard.
"Your personal laptop.""
Richard stood abruptly.
"What?""
"The final approval was submitted from your registered device.""
Richard shook his head.
"I never approved that transfer.""
Thomas looked at the timestamp.
"It happened at 6:47 p.m.""
Richard rubbed his forehead.
"I was downstairs.""
Evelyn asked:
"Did anyone have access to your laptop?""
Richard looked toward the room.
Then his eyes settled on Victoria.
She immediately stood.
"Don't look at me.""
Richard's voice shook.
"Victoria, you had my laptop earlier.""
She stared at him.
"I was checking the seating charts.""
"You had it in my office?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
"Because you asked me to.""
Richard looked confused.
"I didn't ask you to access my financial accounts.""
Victoria shook her head.
"I didn't.""
Dad looked toward Daniel.
"Did you see anything?""
Daniel hesitated.
Then he slowly nodded.
"Yes.""
Victoria spun toward him.
"Daniel!""
He continued.
"At 6:30, I went to Richard's office to collect the event schedule. Victoria was sitting at his desk.""
Richard looked shocked.
"What was she doing?""
"She had the laptop open. There was a banking page on the screen.""
Victoria stepped toward him.
"That's a lie.""
Daniel shook his head.
"I saw it.""
"You're making this up because you're afraid of losing your job.""
Daniel looked directly at her.
"I'm afraid of what happens if I keep lying.""
Evelyn stepped between them.
"Nobody is to leave until the authorities arrive.""
Raymond laughed.
"You're all making a mistake. The bank froze the transfer. Nothing was stolen tonight.""
Dad looked at him.
"An attempted transfer of one million seven hundred thousand dollars isn't nothing.""
Raymond shrugged.
"Then prove I did it.""
Evelyn closed her notebook.
"We intend to.""
At that moment, the security chief returned.
"Mr. Brooks, the bank has confirmed something.""
Dad turned.
"What?""
"The transfer request was initiated using the family trust's administrator credentials. The destination account was registered with Danielle's Social Security information.""
I felt sick.
"How could somebody have that?""
Evelyn answered.
"Identity theft. We will need to examine the source documents.""
The security chief continued.
"The bank also identified a second destination account that received an earlier payment.""
Thomas checked the financial records.
"That must be one of the vendor accounts.""
The officer shook his head.
"No. It's a personal account.""
Evelyn asked:
"Whose?""
He handed her a printed statement.
She read the name.
Then looked at my father.
"Marcus...""
Dad took the paper.
His expression changed.
The account belonged to someone who had never been mentioned in the investigation.
Someone whose name wasn't on the vendor invoices.
Someone who had no official position at the theater.
I leaned forward.
"Who is it?""
Dad handed me the page.
I looked at the name.
*SOPHIA BROOKS.*
My mother's name.
I blinked.
"That's impossible. Mom has been gone for six years.""
Dad slowly sat down.
"That's not your mother's account.""
He pointed to the account details.
"It's registered to someone using her identity.""
Evelyn checked the date.
"The account was opened four months after her death.""
I felt cold.
"Who opened it?""
The security chief looked at Thomas.
Thomas checked the supporting records.
Then he looked at Raymond.
Raymond's expression finally cracked.
"That account doesn't belong to me.""
Dad stood.
"Nobody said it did.""
The security chief continued.
"The account's authorized representative is listed as the executor of Sophia Brooks's estate.""
Dad's face hardened.
He had been the executor.
But he had never opened that account.
Evelyn looked through the supporting documents.
Then she noticed a second signature.
A handwritten authorization.
She studied it carefully.
"Marcus, did you ever authorize Raymond to act on your behalf in matters concerning Sophia's estate?""
Dad shook his head.
"Never.""
Raymond began moving toward the door.
Evelyn raised her voice.
"Stay where you are.""
He stopped.
My father looked at his brother.
"Tell me the truth.""
Raymond's expression hardened.
"You wouldn't understand.""
"Try me.""
Raymond looked toward me.
Then at Micah.
And finally back at Dad.
"Your wife knew.""
My father froze.
"What?""
Raymond swallowed.
"Sophia knew about the accounts.""
Dad stepped closer.
"Don't you dare bring her into this.""
"She knew what was happening before she died.""
My throat tightened.
"That's not true.""
Raymond ignored me.
"She discovered the transfers. She found out someone was using her trust documents. She threatened to expose everything.""
Dad's face had gone completely pale.
"Why didn't she tell me?""
Raymond gave a bitter laugh.
"Because she knew you would protect the wrong people.""
Evelyn interrupted.
"Raymond, do you have evidence of that claim?""
He reached into his briefcase.
Then removed a small envelope.
"I've kept this for six years.""
Dad stared at it.
"What is it?""
Raymond placed it on the table.
"Your wife's final letter.""
I felt tears sting my eyes.
Dad picked up the envelope.
His hands were trembling.
The handwriting on the front was unmistakable.
My mother's.
*For Marcus. Only if Raymond refuses to tell the truth.*
Dad opened it.
He read the first sentence.
Then stopped.
His face crumpled.
He looked at Raymond.
Then at me.
And whispered:
"Your mother didn't die believing her family was safe.""
He turned the page.
There was one final paragraph.
And the name written in it wasn't Raymond's.
It wasn't Patricia's.
It wasn't Richard's.
It was the name of the person my father had trusted most after my mother died.
The person who had helped raise me.
May you like
The person who had held my newborn son just weeks earlier.
*And Dad suddenly understood why the theft had continued for six years without anyone discovering it.*