Chương 10
Then his face tightened.
“What if they got access to Mia’s money?”
Mark stopped smiling.
“Did they?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then don’t invent the worst answer.”
“Mom just said the same thing.”
“She’s smarter than both of us.”
“Low bar.”
Mark leaned back against the counter.
“You call Elaine yet?”
“No.”
“Call her.”
Daniel pulled his phone from the pocket where the deputy had returned it after taking his information.
There were forty-three notifications.
He ignored all of them and called his attorney.
Elaine answered on the second ring.
“Daniel?”
He closed his eyes.
Her voice alone almost undid him.
“I need you.”
There was a pause.
“What happened?”
“My wedding stopped.”
“That sentence requires several additional sentences.”
“Eric filed something removing me as CEO.”
Silence.
Then her voice changed completely.
“Where are you?”
“At the chapel.”
“Is Eric there?”
“Yes.”
“Do not discuss company documents with him.”
“A little late.”
“Daniel.”
“There’s more.”
“I assumed.”
He told her about the power of attorney.
He told her about the apparent signature.
He told her about Vanessa’s options.
He told her about the document naming Vanessa as replacement trustee for Mia.
Elaine interrupted for the first time.
“Stop.”
Daniel stopped.
“Do you have that document?”
“The deputies do.”
“Good.”
“They bagged it.”
“Better.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you do not touch anything else.”
“The deputy already said that.”
“For once, the police and I agree.”
Daniel pressed his fingers against his temple.
“Could they move Mia’s money?”
“Not based on what you’ve told me.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It’s the only accurate answer I can give without seeing the trust and the draft.”
“You drafted the trust.”
“Seven years ago.”
“So?”
“So I remember the structure, not every amendment, and I’m not going to lie to make you feel better.”
Daniel swallowed.
“Fine.”
“There should be safeguards.”
“Should?”
“Independent co-trustee, written acceptance, notice requirements, restrictions on self-dealing.”
“My sister didn’t sign anything.”
“That helps.”
“What if they forged her too?”
Elaine went quiet.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Elaine.”
“I heard you.”
“What if they did?”
“Then we treat it as fraud and freeze anything we can freeze.”
“How fast?”
“I’m calling the institution as soon as we hang up.”
“Can they move it today?”
“Possibly not.”
“Possibly.”
“Daniel, listen to me.”
He did.
“Stop asking me for certainty we don’t have.”
His jaw tightened.
“I have a nine-year-old daughter.”
“I know.”
“They put her name in this.”
“I know.”
“I need something better than possibly.”
“You need the truth more than you need comfort.”
He looked at the closed door.
Outside, someone dragged a chair across the floor.
“Fine.”
Elaine continued.
“Do you have access to your accounts?”
“I think so.”
“Don’t log in from chapel Wi-Fi.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know who touched your devices, your credentials, or that network.”
He stared at the phone.
“How bad is this?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Elaine.”
“I don’t.”
He hated that answer.
He trusted it.
“Go somewhere secure.”
“My brother’s hotel.”
“Fine.”
“Vanessa has been living in my house.”
“Then don’t go there alone.”
“She has access to my laptop.”
“Assume every password she could have seen is compromised.”
Daniel stood.
Mark watched him.
Elaine said, “And Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“Do not fire Eric by text.”
He blinked.
“I was about to.”
“I know you.”
“You really do.”
“Board action may already have changed your authority.”
“So I’m supposed to let him keep his job?”
“You’re supposed to let me figure out whether you currently have legal authority to terminate him before you create another mess.”
Daniel looked through the small window in the door.
Eric was visible between two pews, speaking to a deputy.
“I hate this.”
“Good.”
“That’s Mark’s word today.”
“Your family has occasionally useful instincts.”
He almost smiled again.
“I’ll call you from the hotel.”
“No.”
“What?”
“I’ll call you.”
“When?”
“As soon as I have the trust institution, corporate filing status, and your board documents in front of me.”
Daniel nodded even though she could not see him.
“Okay.”
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“Keep Mia with someone you trust.”
He looked at Mark.
He ended the call.
Mark lifted his eyebrows.
“She cheerful?”
“She threatened me with accuracy.”
“Elaine.”
“Elaine.”
They stepped back into the chapel.
The room had thinned.
Deputies were allowing guests to leave after taking names from those closest to the confrontation.
Raincoats appeared.
Umbrellas opened beyond the doors.
People avoided Daniel’s eyes on their way out, except for a few who squeezed his shoulder or muttered that they were sorry.
He did not know what they were sorry for.
The wedding.
The humiliation.
The company.
His judgment.
Maybe all of it.
Vanessa stood near the side wall with Claire.
Her veil had been removed.
Without it, she looked less like a bride and more like someone wearing a white dress to the wrong event.
Daniel went to the side room.
His mother sat on a small couch with Mia.
Mia had taken off her wet shoes.
One sock had a hole near the big toe.
She looked up immediately.
“Are we leaving?”
“Yes.”
She stood.
Daniel noticed the folder in her lap.
“Do you still have everything you found?”
Mia hugged it to her chest.
“Yes.”
“Did anybody else touch what’s inside?”
“The video man copied the paper.”
“Anything else?”
She frowned.
“There’s a little drive.”
Daniel crouched.
“What drive?”
She opened the folder.
Inside, beneath several folded pages, lay a small black USB drive.
Daniel stared at it.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was taped inside Vanessa’s desk.”
His mother leaned forward.
Daniel did not touch it.
“What’s on it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t plug it in?”
Mia shook her head.
“I was going to.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She looked embarrassed.
“Your computer said I needed a password.”
Daniel felt a strange surge of gratitude for a password he had spent months complaining about.
“Okay.”
Mia looked worried.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No.”
He stopped himself.
May you like
Then corrected it.
“You went through someone’s private desk, which normally would be wrong.”
