Chapter 5 - Marlowe Holdings
Eleanor arrived at nine.
She came without a driver.
That alone told Daniel she did not want company employees knowing she was there.
At sixty-eight, Eleanor Hale still possessed the immaculate appearance that had defined Daniel’s childhood—silver-blonde hair, pearl earrings, navy coat, posture so straight she seemed incapable of bending.
She paused inside the foyer.
Her eyes traveled to the scratches on the floor left by police equipment.
“Where’s Lily?”
“Asleep.”
“I want to see her.”
“No.”
Eleanor stared at Daniel.
He had never denied his mother access to her granddaughter.
“Not until we talk.”
Rebecca joined them.
Eleanor’s expression hardened.
“You told him.”
“Not everything,” Rebecca said.
Daniel looked between them.
“That sentence is becoming very popular.”
They moved into the study.
Daniel shut the door.
“What is Marlowe Holdings?”
Eleanor sat.
“A company I created fifteen years ago.”
“For what?”
“Asset protection.”
“What assets?”
“Family assets.”
“Try again.”
Eleanor’s mouth tightened.
“In 2011 Hale Land nearly collapsed.”
Daniel knew that.
A failed hotel project in Phoenix had pushed the company close to bankruptcy.
Samuel had always claimed a private lender rescued them.
“The lender never existed,” Eleanor said.
Daniel stared at her.
“We created several entities to move property temporarily off Hale Land’s books while Samuel negotiated with the bank.”
“That sounds illegal.”
“It was desperate.”
“Was it illegal?”
Eleanor looked at the floor.
Rebecca answered.
“Yes.”
Eleanor’s eyes flashed.
“You weren’t there.”
“I’ve read the filings.”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“How much money went through Marlowe?”
“Originally? Four million.”
“Originally.”
Eleanor folded her hands.
“Victor continued using the company.”
“Without your knowledge?”
Eleanor did not answer quickly enough.
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“There it is.”
“I knew some transactions continued.”
“How many?”
“I didn’t know details.”
“That’s not believable.”
“It’s true.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Did you take Dad’s blue ledger?”
Eleanor’s face changed.
Only slightly.
But Daniel saw it.
“What ledger?”
“Wrong answer.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Rebecca says you knew about Dad’s wall safe.”
“I knew Samuel had several safes.”
“Mom.”
Eleanor stood.
“Daniel, your daughter has been through something terrible. This is not the time to tear apart thirty years of family finances.”
“This is exactly the time.”
She moved toward the door.
Daniel stepped in front of her.
“Did you know Victor was coming here yesterday?”
Eleanor looked directly at him.
“I knew he wanted to speak with Rebecca.”
“Rebecca wasn’t home.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Did you know he was looking for evidence?”
Eleanor’s silence returned.
Daniel felt rage spreading through him.
“Did you send him?”
“No.”
“Did you tell him anything was hidden here?”
“No.”
Rebecca spoke behind them.
“Eleanor.”
Eleanor glanced at her.
Rebecca’s voice was quiet.
“You told Victor about Samuel’s investigation once before.”
Daniel looked at his wife.
“When?”
“After Samuel died.”
Eleanor stiffened.
Rebecca continued.
“I came to you because the ledger was missing. You said Victor deserved to know what his father had believed about him.”
Eleanor turned sharply.
“That is not what happened.”
“You called him that night.”
“How would you know?”
“Because he called me afterward.”
Daniel looked between them.
“Why would Victor call you?”
Rebecca’s face tightened.
“He wanted to know what Samuel had given me.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Daniel wanted to believe her.
His phone buzzed.
A message from Detective Ortiz.
They had restored data from one of the waterproofed external drives.
She wanted Daniel to come to the station.
Immediately.
When Daniel arrived an hour later, Ortiz placed a printed spreadsheet in front of him.
Hundreds of payments.
Shell companies.
Consulting fees.
Land acquisitions.
And one column listing initials.
VH.
EH.
RH.
DH.
Daniel stared.
“What does DH mean?”
Ortiz looked at him carefully.
“That’s what we were hoping you could tell us.”
At the bottom of the spreadsheet was a transfer into Daniel’s architecture division.
Nine hundred thousand dollars.
Daniel had never seen it before.
But according to the accounting record, the money had saved his company from insolvency six years earlier.
May you like
The fraud had not merely happened around Daniel.
It had helped him.
