Chapter 10 - THE LAST SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND
Mark's records identified the missing money.
$612,400.
Almost exactly the amount mentioned in Daniel's email to Evelyn.
The money belonged to three former consulting clients.
Daniel had apparently shifted it through Northline Holdings and Cedar Bridge Assets, disguising transfers as consulting fees and property transactions.
Miriam immediately contacted a forensic accountant.
By Friday afternoon, the path was becoming clear.
The gold bars were likely purchased with mixed funds.
Some belonged to Daniel and Sarah.
Some came from Rachel.
Some came from company clients.
That meant Sarah could not simply take the box.
It was evidence.
But Daniel's final transfer was scheduled for Friday.
They needed Evelyn.
Rachel called her.
At first Evelyn denied everything.
Then Rachel said:
“We heard what you told Daniel at the storage unit.”
Silence.
Rachel continued.
“He forged Sarah's signature.”
Evelyn whispered,
“I knew.”
Sarah felt her stomach turn.
“You knew?”
“I knew something was wrong.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“No.”
Evelyn's voice shook.
“I helped him.”
She explained.
Daniel began hiding money years earlier.
At first he claimed he was protecting assets from a business dispute.
Then the transfers grew.
Evelyn received bonuses to process them.
By the time she realized some funds belonged to clients, she was already implicated.
Daniel used that against her.
“Why the envelope with your name?” Sarah asked.
“Insurance.”
“What?”
“He kept documents on everyone.”
Evelyn gave a humorless laugh.
“Daniel trusts nobody.”
That explained the three envelopes.
Rachel: source of money.
Vanessa: destination for personal spending.
Evelyn: accomplice and financial operator.
Three women.
Three different roles.
All controlled through documentation Daniel kept buried where no bank, attorney, or accountant would find it.
Evelyn finally said,
“He's moving everything tonight.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“You were supposed to do it.”
“He changed the plan.”
Sarah's chest tightened.
“Why?”
Evelyn answered:
“Because he thinks someone opened the box.”
The room went silent.
Ethan whispered,
“How?”
Evelyn continued.
“Daniel photographs the contents before he buries it. One stack of cash wasn't facing the same direction.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
He had put it back.
But not perfectly.
Daniel knew.
May you like
He simply didn't know who had found it.
Yet.
