Chapter 6: The Audit That Wasn't an Accident
"An audit?""
My mother read Patricia's message again.
Her face had become unusually calm.
That worried me more than if she had started shouting.
"Mom, what does she mean?""
Mom handed the phone back to Brielle.
"I don't know yet.""
"Can Patricia arrange an audit of your company?""
"Not directly.""
"Then why would she say that?""
Mom walked toward the study.
"Because someone may have filed a complaint.""
Rebecca arrived twenty minutes later.
She had barely removed her coat when Mom showed her the message.
Rebecca read it twice.
"Has anyone from the regulatory office contacted you?""
"Not yet," Mom replied.
"Then we need to establish whether this is a genuine investigation or an attempt to intimidate you.""
I looked between them.
"Could they actually shut down Mom's company?""
"No," Rebecca said.
"An audit doesn't automatically mean wrongdoing. But we should take the possibility seriously.""
Mom nodded.
"Call Daniel. I want him to review every transaction involving the hotel development.""
Rebecca took out her phone.
"I'll handle the legal notices.""
I sat down.
"Why would Patricia know about an audit before you?""
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Mom said something that made the room colder.
"Because someone may have given her access to confidential company information.""
I remembered Brielle's earlier confession.
She had given Marcus a copy of my signature.
She had been paid by Patricia's husband's company.
And now Patricia seemed to know something about an investigation before my mother had received official notification.
"Could Brielle have helped them get access?"" I asked.
My sister, who had remained near the kitchen doorway, shook her head.
"I never accessed Mom's company records.""
Rebecca turned toward her.
"Did you ever receive documents from Patricia or her husband?""
Brielle hesitated.
"Just a few.""
"What documents?""
"Business plans. Some financial statements.""
"Did you forward them to anyone?""
She looked down.
"Marcus.""
Rebecca wrote something in her notebook.
"Anything else?""
Brielle didn't answer.
Mom walked toward her.
"Sweetheart, if you know something, now is the time to tell us.""
Brielle's eyes filled.
"I didn't know they were going to use it against you.""
"Use what?""
Brielle reached into her handbag again.
This time, she removed a small USB drive.
"I copied some emails from Marcus's laptop.""
Marcus had apparently left his laptop at Brielle's apartment several weeks earlier. She had used it to print the documents he requested.
While looking for a file, she had found an email folder containing correspondence between him, Patricia, and his father.
She had copied several files.
"Why?"" I asked.
Brielle looked embarrassed.
"Because I wanted proof they were going to pay me.""
I took the USB drive.
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?""
"Because I was scared.""
Mom sighed.
"Of what?""
"Of losing everything.""
I stared at her.
"You were willing to risk Mom's company to avoid paying your credit cards?""
Brielle flinched.
"I know how bad it sounds.""
"It sounds exactly as bad as it is.""
Rebecca took the USB drive.
"Don't access or alter anything else. I'll arrange for a forensic copy to be made and reviewed properly.""
Mom nodded.
"Good.""
For the next hour, the house became a place of phone calls and whispered conversations.
Rebecca contacted the company's legal team.
Mom spoke with her chief financial officer.
Brielle sat silently at the kitchen table, staring at her hands.
I stood near the window, watching the rain wash across the garden.
Then my phone rang.
Marcus.
I almost declined.
But something told me I needed to hear what he would say now.
"Hello.""
"Nia, where are you?""
"With my mother.""
"Is Brielle there?""
I looked at my sister.
"Why?""
He exhaled.
"She has something that belongs to me.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"The USB drive?""
Silence.
Then he said, "She told you?""
"Yes.""
"Nia, listen carefully. You need to give that to me.""
"Why?""
"Because those files are confidential.""
"Are they evidence?""
He didn't answer.
"Marcus, what is happening with the audit?""
His breathing changed.
"What audit?""
I almost laughed.
"Patricia seems to know all about it.""
"Don't listen to my mother.""
"Then tell me the truth.""
He was quiet for several seconds.
Finally, he said, "Your mother's company is being investigated because of the hotel investment.""
"Why?""
"Someone reported suspicious transfers.""
"Did you report them?""
"No.""
"Did your father?""
He hesitated.
That was enough.
"Marcus, what did you do?""
"Nia, my father is trying to protect the company. There were payments that needed to be moved before the financing deadline.""
"Where were they moved?""
"That's complicated.""
"How much?""
He didn't answer.
I looked toward Rebecca, who was now standing in the doorway.
"Was my mother involved?""
"No. That's the problem.""
I closed my eyes.
"What does that mean?""
"Your mother's company approved the preliminary investment. If the authorities discover that money moved through the wrong accounts, they could question her company too.""
"She never approved the investment.""
"There's paperwork saying she did.""
I felt the room spin.
"You're saying you forged my signature, and someone also forged my mother's approval?""
"Nia, I didn't forge your mother's signature.""
"Then who did?""
He lowered his voice.
"I think my father did.""
I stared at the phone.
"Your father?""
"Listen, I don't have time to explain everything. I need you to understand that if those emails become public, people could lose their jobs. My father could go to prison.""
I looked at my mother.
She was listening now.
"Did you know about the transfers?""
Marcus said nothing.
"Did you help him?""
"I signed some documents.""
"What documents?""
"Just authorizations.""
I swallowed.
"Using whose name?""
He didn't answer.
"Marcus?""
Finally, he whispered, "Evelyn's.""
I ended the call.
Rebecca immediately approached.
"Did he admit to signing documents in your mother's name?""
I nodded.
She exchanged a look with Mom.
Then her phone rang.
She answered and listened without speaking.
Her expression grew more serious with every passing second.
When she hung up, she looked directly at my mother.
"The company has received an official notice.""
Mom stood.
"From whom?""
"The financial regulator.""
"What are they requesting?""
Rebecca glanced at her notes.
"They want access to the records relating to the proposed hotel investment, including the original authorization documents.""
Mom closed her eyes briefly.
"Fine. We'll provide everything.""
Rebecca hesitated.
"There's a problem.""
"What?""
"The regulator has already received a document showing your approval for a transfer of twelve million dollars.""
Mom stared at her.
"That's impossible.""
"I know. But the document includes what appears to be your electronic authorization.""
I felt my chest tighten.
"Can they prove it's fake?""
Rebecca nodded.
"We can challenge it. But we'll need the original transaction records and the system logs.""
Mom turned toward her study.
"Then get them.""
Rebecca followed.
I remained in the kitchen with Brielle.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then my sister whispered, "Nia?""
I looked at her.
"I think I know how they got Mom's authorization.""
My stomach dropped.
"How?""
Brielle reached for her phone and opened another folder.
"There was a meeting at Marcus's father's office last month. Patricia asked me to bring some documents from Mom's old files.""
"What documents?""
"Her company registration papers. A copy of her identification. And a letter with her signature.""
I stared at her.
"Why?""
"She said it was for the investment application.""
"Did you give them to her?""
Brielle began crying.
"Yes.""
I stepped backward.
My sister covered her face.
"I thought it was legitimate. I swear I didn't know they would use them like this.""
I wanted to believe her.
But then she opened one final message.
It was from Patricia.
*Patricia: Thank you for getting the documents. Once the transfer is complete, your sister will be married, your debts will be cleared, and Evelyn will have no reason to interfere.*
Below it was Brielle's response.
*Brielle: What if Nia finds out?*
Patricia had replied:
*Patricia: By then, it will be too late.*
I stared at the screen.
Then I heard a sharp sound from the study.
A chair scraping against the floor.
Mom appeared in the doorway, holding a printed document.
Her face was white.
"Nia," she said.
I rushed toward her.
"What happened?""
She handed me the paper.
It was a bank transaction record.
The date was three weeks earlier.
The amount was twelve million dollars.
And beneath the transaction description was a line identifying the account that had received the money.
It wasn't Marcus's father's company.
It wasn't Patricia's business.
It was an account belonging to a company I had never heard of.
*CARTER FAMILY LEGACY TRUST.*
I looked at my mother.
"Mom, what is this?""
She stared at the page.
Then she whispered:
"That's your father's trust.""
My breath caught.
"My father died twelve years ago.""
"I know.""
She took the document from my hands.
"Which means someone has been using an account that should have been legally frozen since his death.""
Rebecca stepped into the room behind her.
And the moment she saw the account number, she stopped walking.
"Mrs. Carter," she whispered.
"There's something you need to know.""
Mom turned.
Rebecca pointed to the transaction record.
"The account wasn't reopened by Marcus or his father.""
She looked at me.
"It was reopened using your father's original estate authorization.""
I felt my knees weaken.
Because the signature on that authorization belonged to someone who had been dead for twelve years.
May you like
And according to the bank records, the person who had approved the transfer was not my mother.
It was my father.
