Chapter 2 - THE BLACK BOX
Nobody moved.
The ballroom had gone so quiet I could hear the air conditioning humming above us.
I stared at the frozen image of the accountant.
Marcus Bell.
He had prepared my tax documents.
He had handled payroll.
He had access to every major account connected to my company.
And according to my father, he was "the most trustworthy accountant in town."
I looked at Dad.
"You brought him into my business."
Dad rubbed his forehead.
"Not here."
"Then where?"
"Lila—"
"No."
My voice cracked across the ballroom.
"You've all been telling me what I should do all day. Now I'm asking the questions."
Savannah stepped backward.
Her wedding dress dragged through spilled champagne.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain it."
She looked at Mom.
Mom looked at Dad.
Dad looked at Marcus.
And Marcus looked at me.
Nobody spoke.
Then Marcus slowly walked forward.
"Lila, your sister didn't steal your food."
I laughed bitterly.
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No."
His face was pale.
"She was trying to protect herself."
"From what?"
Marcus glanced at my parents.
"From your family."
My stomach twisted.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, Dad grabbed his arm.
"Stop."
Marcus pulled away.
"I've covered for you long enough."
My father froze.
Savannah started crying.
Not the delicate kind of crying people do at weddings.
She was shaking.
"I didn't know it would go this far."
I looked at her.
"What wouldn't go this far?"
She wiped her face.
"The company."
My heart skipped.
"My company?"
Marcus nodded.
"For three years, money has been disappearing from your business."
I stared at him.
"How much?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"Just over four hundred thousand dollars."
The room tilted.
"No."
"Lila..."
"No."
I shook my head.
"That's impossible."
I knew my numbers.
I knew my invoices.
I knew my payroll.
My company wasn't enormous, but it was profitable.
I had built it from a rented kitchen and a borrowed oven.
Every dollar mattered.
Every contract mattered.
Four hundred thousand dollars couldn't simply disappear.
Marcus opened his briefcase.
"I have copies."
Dad stepped forward.
"You can't do this."
Marcus ignored him.
He placed a folder on the table.
I opened it.
Bank statements.
Wire transfers.
Invoices.
Electronic signatures.
And then I saw something that made my hands go numb.
My signature.
Repeatedly.
On transfers I had never authorized.
I flipped through page after page.
Every transaction had my name.
Every approval looked legitimate.
But I knew I hadn't made them.
"This is fraud."
Marcus nodded.
"Yes."
"Who did it?"
Silence.
I looked at Savannah.
She started crying harder.
Then I looked at Mom.
She wouldn't meet my eyes.
Finally, I looked at Dad.
He whispered:
"We were going to pay it back."
I couldn't breathe.
"We?"
Dad closed his eyes.
I stepped backward.
"You stole from me."
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
"How long?"
"Lila—"
"How long?"
He finally answered.
"Three years."
Three years.
While I worked fourteen-hour days.
While I skipped vacations.
While I delayed buying a house.
While my parents kept telling me I needed to "help the family."
My family had been taking money from me.
And they had used my own signature to make it look legal.
I looked at Savannah.
"Was the wedding paid for with my money?"
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Marcus quietly said, "Most of it."
I felt something inside me break.
The flowers.
The venue.
The dress.
The jewelry.
The honeymoon.
The food she had demanded.
All of it.
I had been paying for my sister's dream wedding without knowing it.
Then Marcus said something that made the entire room go silent.
"There is one transfer you haven't seen yet."
He pulled out another document.
"Twenty-five thousand dollars."
My eyes narrowed.
"Where did that go?"
Marcus looked at Savannah.
She covered her mouth.
Then he said:
"To someone who has been blackmailing your father."
Dad's face went completely white.
I stared at him.
"Who is blackmailing you?"
He didn't answer.
Marcus did.
"Your father's first business partner."
I blinked.
"He's been dead for eleven years."
Marcus nodded.
"That's the problem."
May you like
My blood ran cold.
"Because someone has been receiving money in his name."
