Chương 12
The room stayed quiet.
Celia straightened.
“I haven’t thought about that in years.”
Maribel looked down at her hands.
Leandro’s anger shifted again.
The scandal had started to produce ordinary people inside it.
That was worse than numbers.
Arthur’s phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
“Martin.”
Leandro nodded.
Arthur answered and listened.
His expression changed almost immediately.
“What?”
Everyone turned toward him.
Arthur held up one finger.
He listened for another twenty seconds.
Then he looked at Leandro.
“The bank isolated the attempted transfer.”
“Good.”
Arthur did not look relieved.
“They also found a second request.”
Leandro’s face tightened.
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
Celia turned from the fireplace.
“Where was that going?”
Arthur listened.
Then he frowned.
“Not Oregon.”
Maribel stood.
“Where?”
Arthur looked at her.
“A domestic account in Massachusetts.”
Estelle’s brow furrowed.
“Who owns it?”
Arthur listened again.
His eyes lifted slowly.
The change in his face made Leandro step forward.
“Arthur.”
Arthur lowered the phone.
“The beneficiary name is Daphne Mercer.”
No one moved.
Daphne stared at him.
“What?”
Estelle turned toward her.
Daphne’s face emptied.
“I don’t have an account in Massachusetts.”
Arthur kept looking at her.
Leandro’s voice became very quiet.
“What is your last name?”
Daphne swallowed.
“Mercer.”
Maribel stood completely still.
Celia looked from Daphne to Maribel.
Then something clicked in her expression.
“Oh, God.”
Leandro heard it.
“What?”
Celia stared at Daphne.
Daphne stepped backward.
“What?”
Celia’s voice barely carried.
“Your mother was Elise Boone’s sister.”
Daphne stared at Celia.
“My mother’s name was Ruth Mercer.”
Celia nodded slowly.
“Ruth Boone before she married.”
Daphne’s lips parted.
“No.”
“She was my younger sister.”
Daphne stepped back until the edge of a side table pressed against her hip.
Estelle rose.
“Daphne.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I believe you.”
Maribel looked at Celia.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Celia’s eyes stayed on Daphne.
“Because Ruth had one daughter.”
Daphne shook her head.
“My mother never talked about any of you.”
“That sounds like Ruth.”
“There is no Boone family in anything she left me.”
“She removed herself from us.”
“Why?”
Celia hesitated.
“Because of Elise.”
Daphne’s face tightened.
“What did Elise do?”
Celia looked toward the floor.
“She pulled Ruth into the arrangement with Leandro’s father.”
Estelle’s expression hardened.
“How?”
“Ruth opened accounts.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“What kind of accounts?”
“Temporary ones.”
“For the payments?”
“Yes.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
“And Daphne may now be listed because one of those accounts passed through Ruth’s estate.”
Celia nodded.
“Possibly.”
Daphne looked at Arthur.
“I inherited almost nothing.”
“That doesn’t mean an old account was closed properly.”
“I would know if I had two hundred thousand dollars.”
Arthur softened his voice.
“I’m not accusing you.”
Maribel said, “Someone may be using her identity.”
Leandro turned toward her.
“Who?”
Maribel looked at Celia.
Celia did not answer.
Leandro’s patience broke.
“Stop doing that.”
Celia looked at him.
“What?”
“Looking at each other every time there’s something the rest of us don’t know.”
Celia’s face tightened.
“You’re right.”
Leandro waited.
She took a breath.
“Ruth helped Elise hide money.”
Daphne’s eyes filled with disbelief.
“No.”
“Years ago.”
“No.”
“Daphne—”
“My mother worked reception at a dental office for twenty-six years.”
Celia nodded.
“I know.”
“She clipped coupons.”
“I know.”
“She drove the same Corolla until the floor rusted.”
“I know.”
Daphne’s voice rose.
“She did not hide money.”
Celia’s eyes glistened.
“She did for Elise.”
Daphne stared at her.
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try.”
“Maybe fifty thousand over several years.”
Daphne laughed once.
It sounded painful.
“My mother died owing eight thousand dollars on a credit card.”
Celia looked away.
“That was Ruth.”
“What does that mean?”
“She could move money for somebody else and never touch it for herself.”
Daphne’s face collapsed briefly.
She pressed her lips together.
Estelle reached for her hand.
Daphne let her.
Leandro looked at Arthur.
“Can someone use an old account beneficiary name without Daphne knowing?”
“Yes.”
“Can we prove whether that happened?”
“Yes.”
“How quickly?”
Arthur glanced at his phone.
“Not tonight.”
Leandro nodded.
“Then nobody accuses her tonight.”
Maribel looked at him.
“I wasn’t going to.”
“No.”
His voice sharpened.
“You were going to imply it until someone else did the accusing.”
Maribel flinched.
Estelle looked at her son.
“Enough.”
Leandro turned.
“She dragged you to the floor.”
“I remember.”
“She threatened Daphne.”
“I remember that too.”
“And you’re still—”
“I am still asking you not to become cruel because you are angry.”
He went silent.
Estelle released Daphne’s hand.
“She can be wrong and you can still be wrong in how you answer her.”
Leandro looked away.
Maribel lowered her eyes.
The words seemed to wound her too.
Arthur’s phone buzzed again.
He checked it.
“Martin says the bank can freeze both outgoing transfers until identity verification is complete.”
Leandro nodded.
“Do it.”
Arthur typed.
“And the reserve?”
“Freeze the entire account.”
Celia looked at him.
“That could interrupt Peter’s care.”
Leandro turned.
“Does his facility draw directly from it?”
“No.”
“Then freeze it.”
Maribel said, “What about Alina?”
Leandro looked at her.
“What about her?”
“If she genuinely believed that money was hers, she’s going to panic.”
“She can panic.”
Maribel’s expression hardened.
“That’s easy for you to say.”
Leandro stepped closer.
“You want me to protect her from the consequences of trying to move six hundred thousand dollars?”
“I want you to understand why she might have believed she had the right.”
“I understand that people told her things.”
Maribel shook her head.
“No.”
“Then explain it.”
“She has spent her entire life being told that your father owed her.”
Celia said, “He did owe her something.”
Leandro turned.
“What?”
Celia held his gaze.
“The truth.”
The room went quiet.
Leandro looked toward the folder on the desk.
He touched its edge with two fingers.
“That I agree with.”
Maribel watched him.
“And the money?”
He looked at her.
“That depends on what was actually promised and what can be proved.”
Arthur nodded.
May you like
“Correct.”
Maribel gave him an irritated glance.
