Chapter 4 - The Locked Drawer
I didn't argue. I didn't raise my voice. I carried Elena up the grand staircase, my arm securely around her, leaving my mother and brother standing in the foyer.
Once inside our master suite, I locked the heavy oak door. Elena immediately collapsed onto the edge of the bed, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
"I'm so sorry, Daniel," she wept. "I didn't know what to do."
"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for," I promised, kneeling in front of her and kissing her damp forehead. "I am going to fix this. But first, we are leaving."
I pulled two large suitcases from the walk-in closet. One for her. One for me. While Elena slowly peeled off her damp dress and changed into warm, dry clothes, I walked over to the heavy mahogany desk in my study attached to the bedroom.
I unlocked the bottom drawer with a small biometric safe hidden inside. Inside were six months of highly classified household bank statements. I had noticed anomalies before I left for Singapore, but I hadn't had the time to trace the routing numbers.
Now, I flipped through the pages with a lethal focus.
There it was, glaringly obvious: repeated, massive wire transfers from our household emergency reserve to three shell companies with perfectly harmless names.
Lark Consulting.
Northbridge Interiors.
Meridian Wellness.
May you like
I did the math in my head. The total missing funds amounted to exactly $684,000.
I heard a soft click behind me. The adjoining door from the hallway opened. My mother stood in the doorway, having used her master key to bypass the lock.
