Chapter 10 - Adrian’s Mother
Vivian Vale did not invite them to sit.
She poured herself fresh wine.
Adrian stared at her.
“You know Victor Sloan.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Twenty years.”
Claire felt the room shrink.
Dominic swore quietly.
Vivian ignored him.
“Victor handled foundation audits. Before that, he worked with your father.”
Adrian’s voice dropped.
“My father?”
Claire knew Adrian’s father had died eight years earlier.
Vivian looked at her sons.
“You both think your father built everything cleanly.”
Neither answered.
She smiled sadly.
“He did not.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“What did he do?”
“Whatever kept the doors open.”
Claire recognized the answer.
It was what people said when they wanted to turn choices into weather.
She asked, “Did Victor move money for him?”
Vivian looked at her sharply.
“You are very direct.”
“Yes.”
“Yes. Victor moved money.”
“And Raymond?”
“Later.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“Did you know they were stealing?”
Vivian’s expression changed.
“Stealing is such a convenient word.”
Adrian laughed once.
“Here we go.”
Vivian set down her glass.
“Your father used off-book reserves. Victor managed them. Raymond knew where they were.”
Claire said, “And after Adrian took over?”
“Adrian shut them down.”
Adrian stared at her.
“You knew?”
“Of course.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because your father made me promise.”
Adrian looked genuinely wounded.
Claire hated witnessing it.
Vivian continued.
“When Adrian closed the reserve accounts, Victor lost access to millions. Raymond lost influence. They never forgave him.”
“So they’re framing Adrian,” Claire said.
Vivian looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Why the foundation?”
“To make the money look charitable.”
Claire pointed to the payments.
“Then why route funds to Raymond?”
Vivian’s face went still.
That was the answer.
Claire realized it first.
“You didn’t know.”
Vivian sat down slowly.
“No.”
Adrian asked, “Who has foundation access?”
“Me. The treasurer. Victor.”
“Anyone else?”
She shook her head.
Claire flipped through statements.
“Then your credentials are compromised too.”
Vivian looked older all at once.
Adrian’s phone rang.
Raymond.
He answered on speaker.
Raymond’s voice was calm.
“I heard you visited your mother.”
Adrian said nothing.
Raymond continued.
“You’re chasing ghosts.”
Claire stepped closer.
“Then come explain the numbers.”
Raymond laughed.
“Still playing accountant, Claire?”
“Yes.”
“You really didn’t learn anything the first time Victor destroyed you.”
Claire’s face went cold.
“No. I learned exactly one thing.”
“What?”
“That men like you always repeat the same pattern.”
Silence.
Then Raymond said, “Check the restaurant basement.”
The line went dead.
Adrian stared at the phone.
“What’s in the basement?”
Dominic answered quietly.
“The old paper archives.”
May you like
When they returned to Bellamy House, the basement door was open.
Smoke was pouring out.
