Chapter 11 - THE MAN WHO THOUGHT I WAS WORTH TWENTY THOUSAND
Daniel Mercer was sitting in a police interview room when I saw him again.
He looked nothing like the man who had screamed at me in front of an entire restaurant.
His expensive tie was crooked.
His eyes were red.
And the arrogance had disappeared from his face.
I stood behind the observation window with Rebecca and Adrian.
"How did he get my signature?" I asked.
Rebecca looked grim.
"He had access to your employment documents."
My stomach turned.
Tax forms.
Direct-deposit authorizations.
Identification records.
Everything I'd provided when the restaurant hired me.
"That doesn't mean he could legally transfer my trust."
"No," Rebecca replied. "The filing appears fraudulent. But someone expected it to pass through a compromised verification process."
Adrian folded his arms.
"Cross."
"Most likely."
An investigator entered the interview room.
Daniel immediately began talking.
"I didn't know it was worth that much money."
The investigator sat down.
"Then what did you think you were doing?"
Daniel wiped his forehead.
"Evelyn Shaw told me Sophie was stealing from the company."
My eyes widened.
"Stealing?"
Daniel nodded frantically.
"She said the termination would trigger an internal review and freeze Sophie's employment benefits."
The investigator leaned forward.
"What about the trust transfer?"
"I was told it was an administrative correction."
Rebecca shook her head.
"He's either lying or spectacularly careless."
I stared through the glass.
For two years, I'd worked harder than anyone in that restaurant.
I'd covered shifts.
Trained new employees.
Handled angry customers.
And Daniel had been willing to destroy my life for twenty thousand dollars.
The investigator placed a photograph on the table.
"Do you know this man?"
Nathaniel Cross.
Daniel nodded.
"He came to the restaurant last month."
My heart hammered.
"What?"
The investigator continued.
"What did he want?"
Daniel swallowed.
"He asked about Sophie."
"What specifically?"
"Her schedule. Her finances. Whether she had family."
I felt sick.
Cross had been studying me.
From a distance.
Just as Mrs. Ellis had.
Only his intentions were very different.
The investigator leaned closer.
"What happened three days ago?"
Daniel covered his face.
"Cross told me I had to make sure Sophie was fired before Friday."
"Why Friday?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Because she was scheduled to receive a letter."
I frowned.
"What letter?"
Daniel looked toward the observation window.
For a moment, I thought he could see me.
Then he whispered, "The beneficiary notification."
Rebecca stiffened.
"Oh, no."
Adrian turned.
"What?"
She looked at me.
"Sophie, your trust has a mandatory notification provision."
"What does that mean?"
"Once you receive formal notice, you can challenge unauthorized activity and request an independent accounting."
I stared.
"Then Cross wanted me fired before the letter arrived?"
Rebecca nodded.
"And possibly pressured into signing away your rights while desperate for money."
My hands trembled.
The humiliation.
The shouting.
The sudden termination.
It had all been arranged.
I wasn't fired because I helped an elderly woman.
I was fired because someone wanted me frightened enough to surrender something I didn't know I owned.
Then the investigator's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
He stood abruptly.
"Everyone needs to hear this."
A federal team had found Evelyn Shaw.
She was hiding in a luxury condominium near Lake Michigan.
But she hadn't been alone.
When officers entered, they discovered a second person.
An older man.
Thin.
Exhausted.
With a scar above his eyebrow.
May you like
Richard Carter.
Alive.
