Chapter 17 - The Voice from the Past|
“Claire Bennett?”
The voice on the other end of the line was cold, deep, and heavily accented with a thick European cadence.
“Who is this?” I asked, my grip tightening on the phone until my knuckles turned white.
“I am the senior manager of Privatbank Zurich,” the man replied smoothly. “I am calling to inform you that thirty minutes ago, an attempted unauthorized biometric withdrawal was flagged on Vault 408.”
I stood up from my chair so fast my desk lamp rattled. “An unauthorized withdrawal?”
“Yes, Mrs. Bennett,” the banker continued. “A woman presented a forged power of attorney bearing your signature and your late father’s seal. When our security system flagged the forgery, she fled the premises.”
“What did she look like?” I demanded, my chest heaving.
“She was an older woman, mid-sixties, blonde hair,” the banker said. “She dropped a passport during her departure. The name on the passport is Eleanor Whitmore.”
My mother.
She hadn't been in prison. Because she wasn't the primary perpetrator of the embezzlement, she had received three years of probation and a suspended sentence two months ago.
I thought she was living quietly in a small apartment in Rhode Island, ruined and humbled.
Instead, she had fled the country using a fake passport, hunting for the Zurich vault.
“Is the vault safe?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“The vault remains locked, Mrs. Bennett,” the banker assured me. “It can only be opened by your physical presence and the silver key left in your father’s estate. However, you should be aware of one more detail.”
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“What detail?”
“The woman was not alone,” the banker whispered lowered his voice. “She was escorted by two armed men belonging to Vance Capital International.”
