Chapter 4 - THE BROTHER WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
Ryan arrived at the house that afternoon.
He walked in smiling.
Then he saw the officers.
The smile disappeared.
“What happened?”
Denise immediately moved toward him.
“Ryan, don't say anything.”
He looked at her.
Then at me.
His eyes lingered on my hospital bracelet.
I still hadn't taken it off.
Four days after surgery.
Four days after giving birth.
And I was standing there watching my marriage collapse.
Ryan finally said:
“You should be resting.”
I laughed.
“That's what your family keeps telling me.”
He looked uncomfortable.
Daniel placed the financial records on the table.
Ryan's face changed.
“What is this?”
“Your transactions.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Then explain the payments.”
Ryan picked up a document.
His hands trembled.
“Those are business expenses.”
“For companies that don't exist?”
He looked at Denise.
She wouldn't meet his eyes.
Mark finally spoke.
“Tell her.”
Ryan glared at him.
“Shut up.”
I froze.
That was the first time Ryan had ever raised his voice at Mark.
Then he turned toward me.
“You don't understand what you're involved in.”
“What am I involved in?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why was my name on the loan?”
He said nothing.
I stepped closer.
“Why did someone photograph me during my pregnancy?”
Still nothing.
“Why does a secret project have my name?”
Ryan's face went pale.
Then he whispered:
“Because your father left something behind.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
My mother stiffened.
“What ledger?”
Ryan looked at her.
“The Whitaker ledger.”
I had never heard of it.
Ryan continued.
“Your father discovered someone had been stealing from the company.”
“Who?”
He looked at Denise.
She turned away.
Ryan said:
“Your grandfather.”
I frowned.
“My grandfather died before I was born.”
“He did.”
“Then how could he steal from the company?”
“He didn't.”
Ryan swallowed.
“Someone used his name.”
The pattern was becoming familiar.
Dead relatives.
Fake companies.
Forged signatures.
Missing money.
But there was one difference.
The ledger had been hidden.
“Where is it?”
Ryan looked at me.
“Your father gave it to someone.”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
I turned.
Mom looked stunned.
“I never received a ledger.”
Ryan shook his head.
“He told me he gave it to you.”
My mother stood.
“That's impossible.”
Ryan reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a photograph.
It showed my mother and father standing outside a bank.
Between them was a metal box.
On the back was a date.
The day before my father died.
I stared at the photograph.
“What was in the box?”
Ryan whispered:
“The names of everyone involved.”
“And the proof.”
“What proof?”
“That the family business wasn't just being robbed.”
He looked at me.
“It was being used to hide something much bigger.”
“What?”
Ryan hesitated.
“Insurance fraud.”
I stared.
“Whose insurance?”
“Employees.”
My blood ran cold.
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Explain.”
Ryan looked terrified.
“Fake accidents.”
“Deaths?”
He nodded.
“Claims were filed for workers who supposedly died or became disabled.”
“But they were alive?”
“Some were.”
I felt sick.
“Where did the money go?”
Ryan looked at Mark.
Then at Denise.
“Into accounts controlled by the family.”
I couldn't speak.
My mother whispered:
“How many?”
Ryan answered:
“Twenty-seven.”
Twenty-seven fake claims.
Twenty-seven lives turned into paperwork.
Then Daniel asked the question none of us wanted answered.
“What happened to the real workers?”
Ryan lowered his head.
“Some disappeared.”
The room went silent.
Then the front door opened.
A woman stood outside.
She was crying.
She looked at me.
“My name is Carla Benton.”
Daniel stood immediately.
“Ms. Benton?”
She nodded.
“I was one of them.”
May you like
She looked at Denise.
“And I know exactly what they did to my husband.”
