Chapter 4 - THE COMPANY BEHIND THE BOUTIQUE
I had always believed Ashley was financially irresponsible.
She loved expensive clothes, elaborate vacations, and social events she couldn't afford.
Whenever her boutique struggled, she called Ryan.
And Ryan always helped.
He told me that family came first.
I was beginning to realize that in his definition of family, I came last.
Hannah completed the first stage of her financial review on Friday.
Maple Row Holdings was a property investment company.
It had been registered eighteen months earlier.
Its official manager was a man named Miles Caldwell.
I knew Miles.
He was Ryan's former college roommate and our banking relationship manager.
He had attended our wedding.
He had helped arrange our company's credit facilities.
And he had been involved in preparing the disputed loan application against my house.
But the company's ownership records showed something else.
Ryan held a substantial beneficial interest in Maple Row.
Ashley held a smaller interest.
Margaret had received distributions from an associated account.
I stared at Hannah's report.
“So Ryan was transferring money from our investment company into a business he secretly controlled?”
“That appears to be what the records show.”
“And now that business wants to acquire my house?”
“Yes.”
The room became very quiet.
I finally understood the plan.
Ryan wanted to use money from our jointly owned business to strengthen Maple Row.
Then he intended to borrow against my house using documents I hadn't authorized.
If those transactions succeeded, I would be left with the financial risk while he and his family controlled the assets.
My refusal at the bank hadn't merely embarrassed him.
It had threatened the arrangement he had been building for months.
I remembered the argument near the upstairs railing.
Ryan screaming that I was ruining everything.
His hand closing around my arm.
The sudden impact.
Then his voice at the hospital, calmly telling the doctor I had slipped.
For days, I had wondered whether he truly believed I deserved what happened.
Now I understood something more disturbing.
He had treated my physical fear as a way to pressure me into approving the transactions.
Evelyn contacted the bank and the relevant investigators with Hannah's findings.
The disputed loan was placed on hold while the documentation was examined.
The property records were also flagged because of the suspected unauthorized transaction.
Then Ashley called me.
I nearly ignored her.
Curiosity won.
“Claire, we need to talk.”
“Talk to my attorney.”
“Please.”
Her voice sounded different.
Less arrogant.
More frightened.
“Ryan says you're going to ruin my business.”
“I didn't create the invoices.”
Silence.
Then she whispered, “I didn't create all of them either.”
I sat straighter.
“What does that mean?”
“Ryan told me the transfers were temporary. He said the boutique was being used as a bridge until another investment closed.”
“Did you know the invoices were false?”
She hesitated.
That was answer enough.
“Ashley.”
“I thought he would fix everything.”
I closed my eyes.
Everyone in Ryan's family seemed to believe that money could erase whatever they had done to obtain it.
Then Ashley said something unexpected.
“Claire, there's another account.”
My stomach tightened.
“What account?”
“Ryan said not to tell anyone.”
“Ashley, what account?”
She took a shaky breath.
“The money from Maple Row has been going into a property trust.”
“Which property?”
“A townhouse in Palm Beach.”
I stared at the wall.
Margaret had spent months talking about retiring somewhere warm.
May you like
Now I knew who had been paying for her new home.
And the money had come from assets Ryan was secretly taking from me.
