Chapter 3 - Forty-Three Calls
At 8:56 the next morning, Claire walked into Bellamy House wearing the only navy suit she still owned.
Adrian was already waiting.
Raymond was not.
Two laptops sat on the table.
Adrian pushed one toward her.
“Read-only access. Accounting, vendors, payroll, insurance, purchasing.”
“Who knows I have this?”
“Me.”
“Anyone else?”
“No.”
“That’s smart.”
“I try.”
Claire logged in.
For two hours she barely spoke.
Adrian took calls in the corner, always in a low voice.
At 11:13, Claire found the first break.
“Here.”
Adrian crossed the room.
She showed him a vendor called Lakefront Mechanical.
“Real company?”
“Yes.”
“Real invoices?”
“Some.”
“Some?”
Claire opened twelve payments.
“Look at the invoice numbers. LFM-8812. LFM-8813. LFM-8814. Then suddenly LMF-8815.”
“So?”
“Letters reversed.”
“Typo?”
“No. Different bank routing number.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
Claire opened another vendor.
Same pattern.
Then another.
Three legitimate companies.
Three fake payment destinations.
Small amounts.
$48,000.
$72,000.
$61,500.
Never enough to trigger internal review.
Always approved by Raymond.
Adrian said, “Total?”
Claire calculated.
“Just what I can prove in this system? One point eight million.”
He went quiet.
“And the rest?”
“Probably layered through other accounts.”
His phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen.
“Raymond.”
“Answer.”
Adrian did.
“Where are you?” Raymond asked through the speaker.
“Busy.”
“With the waitress?”
Claire looked at Adrian.
He gave no reaction.
Raymond continued, “This is getting stupid. Fire her and let me clean up the books.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed.
Adrian said, “Why are you worried about a waitress?”
“I’m not.”
“You sound worried.”
A pause.
Then Raymond said, “Victor called me.”
Claire froze.
Adrian leaned against the table.
“What did Victor want?”
“To warn me.”
“About?”
Another pause.
“That woman.”
Claire felt the old humiliation rise inside her chest.
Raymond continued.
“He says she’s unstable. Obsessed with fraud. Got fired for inventing conspiracies.”
Claire almost laughed.
Same script.
Same words.
Adrian looked directly at her.
“Did Victor send anything?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A file.”
“Forward it.”
“No.”
That single word changed the room.
Adrian’s voice cooled.
“Why not?”
“Because I think we should talk first.”
Adrian ended the call.
Claire said, “He has something.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Adrian stared at the phone.
“Something he thinks scares me.”
At that exact moment, Claire’s laptop refreshed.
A new payment appeared.
$250,000.
Approved eleven seconds earlier.
By Raymond Keller.
Destination: BENNETT FAMILY CARE TRUST.
May you like
Claire stopped breathing.
“That’s my father’s trust.”
