Chapter 5 - THE SAFE IN THE STUDY
Richard stared at the key as if it were a weapon.
"Beatrice, don't."
She ignored him.
"For years, I believed my husband was keeping Julian's business problems under control. I didn't know how far things had gone until I discovered the payments."
Richard stepped forward.
"You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Then let Harper see the records."
The tension in the room was so thick I could barely breathe.
Richard's study was at the far end of the hallway. I had entered it only a handful of times, usually to deliver a document or retrieve a book. He kept it locked, claiming important client information was stored inside.
The key opened a narrow cabinet behind his desk.
Inside sat a small safe.
Richard tried to block me, but Natalie stood in his way.
"Let her look."
I entered the combination Beatrice whispered to me.
The safe clicked open.
Inside were bank statements, property agreements, and a thick envelope marked with my full name.
My name had been underlined twice.
I opened the envelope.
The first page was an account summary from a private bank. Over the previous six years, millions of dollars had moved through several companies connected to Julian.
The money had originated from a charitable foundation that funded housing for women escaping domestic abuse.
I read the foundation's name twice.
My own design firm had completed a renovation project for one of its shelters three years earlier.
I had donated my time and waived most of my fee.
Now I understood why Julian had insisted on handling the foundation's bookkeeping after the project ended.
He had access to the accounts.
And someone had been using my firm's name to approve suspicious payments.
"These transactions are fraudulent," I whispered.
Richard's face had turned gray.
Julian tried to take the papers.
I pulled them away.
"Don't touch them."
Then I found a handwritten note tucked beneath the statements.
It contained three words.
Ask about Daniel.
I looked at Richard.
"Who is Daniel?"
His mouth opened, but no sound emerged.
Beatrice sat down abruptly.
May you like
Because Daniel was the name of Julian's older brother.
The brother the family had always claimed died in a boating accident twelve years earlier.
