Chapter 10 - A Name on Every InvoiceRachel Kim's office overlooked a narrow street lined with old brick buildings.
Naomi arrived carrying a binder thick enough to make her arms ache.
Inside were contracts, photographs, screenshots, bank records Vivian had voluntarily shared, and a growing timeline of Willowmere's business decisions.
Rachel examined the documents without interrupting.
After nearly an hour, she leaned back.
"There's a pattern here."
Naomi waited.
"The catering charges and the renovation credits both involve the same company."
"SafeTable Solutions."
"Yes."
Rachel turned her screen toward Naomi.
"The business is registered in Connecticut as an LLC. Its registered agent is a commercial filing service, so the public registration doesn't tell us who actually benefits from it."
"Can we find out?"
"Potentially, through records requests, discovery, subpoenas where authorized, or cooperation from someone with access. But I don't want to guess."
Naomi nodded.
Rachel continued.
"The larger question is whether SafeTable performed the services it billed."
She placed three invoices side by side.
One charged Willowmere Events $4,800 for an allergen-management audit.
Another charged $7,200 for staff training and equipment certification.
The third listed $48,600 for specialized kitchen improvements.
"Mateo says he never saw most of the equipment," Naomi said.
"That's a lead. Not proof by itself."
"What else?"
"The invoices use almost identical descriptions. The signatures look copied. And the bank information is partially visible on one document."
Naomi leaned forward.
"Can we trace it?"
"Not lawfully through guesswork. We need actual payment records."
Naomi thought of Vivian's property operating account.
"Mom can request her own statements."
"Exactly."
They called Vivian.
She had already scheduled a meeting at her bank.
Rachel praised the decision.
Then Naomi asked about the anonymous threat.
Rachel studied the screenshot.
"Save the original message and document the time. If you receive another threat, report it. We should also make sure you and Ava aren't being approached or followed."
Naomi looked uneasy.
"Do you think Celeste sent it?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think Nolan did?"
"I don't know that either."
Rachel's answer was frustrating.
It was also the only responsible one.
Naomi left the office shortly before noon.
Her phone rang as she reached the parking garage.
It was Lila.
"Mrs. Ellis, I found something."
Naomi stopped.
"What?"
"Old event invoices. I remembered the SafeTable name after you asked me about the labels."
"Where?"
"In the staff scheduling emails."
"Why would invoices be there?"
"They weren't attached as invoices. They were included in event preparation packets so staff would know which services had supposedly been booked."
Naomi waited.
"How many?"
"Nine from this year."
"Do they show different customers?"
"Yes."
Lila swallowed.
"And almost every customer paid extra for special dietary accommodation."
Naomi closed her eyes.
"Can you send the records you already have to Rachel? Don't access anything you're not authorized to access."
"I will."
There was a pause.
"Mrs. Ellis?"
"Yes?"
"One of the parties was for a little boy with celiac disease."
Naomi felt a chill.
"Was the food gluten-free?"
"I don't know. But I remember Nolan saying the special bread was too expensive."
Naomi gripped the steering wheel.
"What happened?"
"They served the regular bread without telling the parents. I heard him say they were unlikely to notice."
The words were horrifying.
But Naomi forced herself not to leap from allegation to conclusion.
"Did you hear anyone else confirm that?"
"No."
"Then tell Rachel exactly what you heard, and when."
"Okay."
After ending the call, Naomi sat in her car for several minutes.
Her sister's actions were becoming part of something larger than family resentment.
There might have been multiple customers.
Multiple paid promises.
Multiple opportunities for serious harm.
At two that afternoon, Vivian called from the bank.
Her voice was tight.
"Naomi."
"What happened?"
"The bank printed the operating-account history."
"Okay."
"Celeste had authorized access for certain expenses. But several transfers were made to SafeTable Solutions."
"How much?"
Vivian hesitated.
"The documented transfers I can see total ninety-three thousand four hundred dollars over twenty months."
Naomi shut her eyes.
"That's almost a hundred thousand."
"Yes."
"Was all of it from your account?"
"Yes. She appears to have categorized them as property improvements and required safety work."
Naomi pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Mom, please send the statements directly to Rachel."
"I will."
Then Vivian said, "There's something else."
Naomi waited.
"The bank manager helped me review the authorized-user forms. Celeste's access was valid."
"That's good, isn't it?"
"It means she didn't need to forge my signature to move the money."
Naomi understood.
The transfers might have been within the permissions Celeste had received.
Whether she used that authority dishonestly was a different question.
Vivian continued, "I've changed the account permissions with the bank."
"Good."
"But Naomi…"
Her mother's voice broke.
"Celeste called me this morning."
"What did she say?"
"She told me if I questioned the invoices, she'd stop paying the property taxes."
Naomi looked down at the stack of papers on the passenger seat.
"Mom, you own the house. She can't simply decide what you have to believe."
Vivian inhaled shakily.
"I know."
Then she whispered something that made Naomi straighten.
"She said if I brought lawyers into this, she'd tell everyone what really happened the year your father died."
Naomi's heart stumbled.
"What happened?"
Vivian was silent.
"Mom?"
When she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible.
"Your father found something in the company accounts before he died."
May you like
Naomi stopped breathing.
"And he made me promise never to tell you."
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