Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO STOLE OUR INHERITANCE
Gabriel Greedy was gone before I finished reading my father's letter.
One moment, he'd been standing beside Ravi.
The next, his chair was empty.
Ravi noticed immediately.
"Vincent."
A tall security guard approached.
"Boss?"
"Find my uncle. Don't threaten him. I want to know where he's going."
Vincent nodded.
I stared at the empty chair.
"My father warned me about him."
Ravi looked at the letter.
"May I?"
I hesitated.
Then handed it over.
His expression changed when he reached the final line.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked toward the ballroom doors.
"Gabriel handled my father's finances for eighteen years."
I felt sick.
"And?"
"And your father discovered money missing from a private trust."
I swallowed.
"What trust?"
Ravi gestured toward a quiet sitting room.
"We can talk there, if you want."
I looked toward Catherine.
She stood near the bar, furiously typing on her phone.
I thought about Sadi waiting at home.
About the overdue rent.
About the orthodontist's estimate sitting inside my handbag.
"Fine," I said. "But I need to leave soon."
Ravi nodded.
Inside the sitting room, he placed several old documents on the table.
"My father established a fund for employees who helped the family during difficult years."
I stared.
"My father worked for yours?"
Ravi nodded.
"Michael Harper was our head mechanic. He maintained the vehicles used by our legitimate businesses."
That sounded like Dad.
He could fix almost anything with an engine.
Ravi continued.
"Fifteen years ago, someone attempted to abduct me outside a warehouse."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Because my father had enemies."
Ravi looked down.
"Your father intervened. He was injured protecting me."
I remembered a long scar across Dad's shoulder.
He always claimed he'd received it while repairing a truck.
"That was how he got the scar?"
"Yes."
I covered my mouth.
Ravi continued.
"My father promised Michael that his family would always be taken care of."
I looked at him.
"Then why weren't we?"
"That's what I intend to find out."
He opened another folder.
A financial statement appeared.
At the top were two names.
Michael Harper.
Elizabeth Harper.
My parents.
Below them was a figure that made my breath catch.
$2,400,000.
I stared at the number.
"That's impossible."
Ravi shook his head.
"The money was placed in a protected trust."
"What happened to it?"
He turned another page.
The balance showed zero.
My stomach twisted.
"Where did it go?"
Ravi's expression hardened.
"According to these records, the trust was liquidated six months after your parents died."
"By whom?"
He hesitated.
Then turned the document toward me.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
Diane Elizabeth Harper.
I stared.
"That's my name."
Ravi nodded.
"But I never signed that."
He looked directly at me.
"How old were you two years ago?"
"Nineteen."
"Then someone may have forged your signature."
I felt the room spinning.
For two years, I'd been working double shifts while someone spent the money my parents had left us.
Then Ravi's phone rang.
Vincent.
"Boss, we found Gabriel."
Ravi stood.
"Where?"
Vincent hesitated.
"At the airport."
"Is he leaving?"
"Yes. Private flight."
Ravi's voice turned cold.
"Inform the authorities investigating the trust."
May you like
Then Vincent added something that made my blood freeze.
"Boss, Catherine Voss is traveling with him."
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