Chapter 3 - The Millions Hidden Behind Dinner
Daniel placed Lorraine’s tablet on my desk.
Lorraine sat across from me.
Two guards stood outside.
Grace remained upstairs with Isabella and Mia, eating a proper meal under Daniel’s wife’s supervision.
I opened the first file.
Invoices.
Hundreds of them.
Food suppliers.
Nutrition consultants.
Private educators.
Children’s clothing.
Medical products.
The numbers were enormous.
Daniel pointed toward the screen.
“Most of these companies don’t exist.”
I looked at Lorraine.
She crossed her legs.
“You’ve been stealing from me.”
“Stealing is such an ugly word.”
“How much?”
Daniel answered.
“We’ve confirmed $1.8 million so far.”
I stared at him.
“So far?”
“We’re still searching.”
Lorraine smiled.
“You never checked.”
“No.”
“You signed everything.”
“Yes.”
“Then perhaps you should blame yourself.”
I leaned back.
“For stealing money?”
“For being absent.”
That landed harder than I wanted it to.
She saw that.
“You thought paying bills made you a father.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Careful.”
I raised a hand.
Lorraine continued.
“You disappeared into your office. Your meetings. Your security obsession. You handed me the household and never asked questions.”
“I trusted you.”
“That was your mistake.”
I looked at the photographs of the girls’ meals.
“You photographed food and removed it.”
“I needed documentation.”
“For fake expenses.”
“Correct.”
“And starving them made the numbers easier to hide.”
“They weren’t starving.”
I slammed my palm onto the desk.
“They were sneaking food through a window at midnight!”
Lorraine finally flinched.
Only slightly.
Daniel placed another folder in front of me.
“This isn’t the worst part.”
Inside were records dating back almost six years.
Before Sophia died.
Payments.
Transfers.
Letters.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Emily Carter.
Grace’s mother.
“What am I looking at?”
Daniel answered.
“Emily discovered Lorraine was moving money from accounts belonging to Sophia.”
Lorraine’s face changed.
For the first time, she looked concerned.
Daniel continued.
“Emily confronted her.”
I turned toward Lorraine.
“And you got rid of her.”
“I did nothing of the kind.”
“Then why did Sophia believe her sister abandoned the family?”
Lorraine remained silent.
Daniel slid over another document.
A copy of an email supposedly written by Emily.
It said she wanted nothing more to do with Sophia.
Daniel tapped the signature.
“Forgery.”
I stared at Lorraine.
“You separated them.”
“She was trouble.”
“She was Sophia’s sister.”
“She was going to destroy everything.”
“What everything?”
Lorraine smiled bitterly.
“The system.”
“What system?”
“The one your family built.”
I leaned forward.
“My family?”
She laughed.
“You think I did this alone?”
Daniel and I exchanged a glance.
Lorraine immediately realized she had said too much.
I lowered my voice.
“Who helped you?”
“No one.”
“You just said—”
“I misspoke.”
Daniel’s phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen.
Then at me.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Someone just tried to access the east gate.”
“Who?”
“Vehicle left before security arrived.”
Lorraine smiled again.
I saw it.
“You were expecting someone.”
No answer.
I stood.
“Who?”
Lorraine looked toward the ceiling camera.
Then back at me.
“You installed eleven hidden cameras.”
“Yes.”
“You should have installed twelve.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Lorraine leaned toward me.
“Because there’s one room in this house you never watched.”
I knew immediately.
Sophia’s old study.
The room I had kept locked for three years.
I looked at Daniel.
“Get upstairs.”
Lorraine laughed.
May you like
“You’re too late.”
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