"Eleanor discovered something larger."
I stepped closer.
"Then tell me."
He glanced toward Vanessa.
Strangely, she looked nervous.
Not because of him.
Because of what he might say.
Victor continued.
"Your mother suspected someone was stealing through the holding companies."
"I know."
"She asked me to investigate."
I shook my head.
"She wrote that I shouldn't trust you."
That hurt him.
I saw it.
Real hurt.
"I don't know why."
"Convenient."
"Charlotte, I loved your mother like family."
"Then why were you talking about stopping me?"
He exhaled.
"Because if you appeared at probate too early, whoever forged the estate amendment would know you had discovered it."
My anger faltered.
"What?"
"I was trying to keep you away until we knew who was responsible."
Daniel looked skeptical.
"Then why didn't you contact Charlotte?"
"I tried."
"No, you didn't."
Victor stared at me.
"I sent three messages through Claire."
My heart stopped.
Claire Winters.
My mother's personal assistant.
The woman who called me after the accident.
The woman who told me Mom had died instantly.
The woman who helped organize the funeral.
"I never got them."
Victor's expression darkened.
"Then we have another problem."
His phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed completely.
Daniel noticed.
"What is it?"
Victor handed me the phone.
A security alert from my mother's private residence.
Motion detected.
The house had been empty since her death.
I opened the attached image.
Someone dressed in black was inside Mom's study.
Standing beside the desk where I had found her hidden envelope.
My blood went cold.
Then a second alert arrived.
Front door opened.
And beneath it, the alarm system displayed the user code that had disabled security.
CLAIRE WINTERS.
We reached my mother's house before the police did.
That was probably stupid.
Daniel told me so at least six times.
I didn't care.
The gate stood open.
The front door was unlocked.
The house where I had grown up looked wrong at night.
Not haunted.
Violated.
I stepped inside with Daniel behind me.
Victor remained outside with security.
Detective Brooks was less than two minutes away.
"Claire?"
My voice echoed through the foyer.
Nothing.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
"Don't announce us."
I pulled free.
"This is my house."
"And someone may be inside it."
I lowered my voice.
We moved toward the study.
The door was open.
The desk drawers had been pulled out.
Papers covered the floor.
The false-bottom drawer where I found the envelope was broken apart.
Someone knew exactly where to look.
My heart pounded.
"She's looking for what Mom left me."
Daniel nodded.
"Or confirming you already took it."
A sound came from the kitchen.
I turned.
Daniel whispered,
"Stay here."
Absolutely not.
I followed.
We found the back door open.
Curtains moved in the night breeze.
Nobody was there.
Detective Brooks arrived seconds later with officers.
She was furious when she saw me.
"You entered?"
I nodded.
"I specifically told you not to place yourself in danger."
"You hadn't specifically told me that yet."
Her stare could have cracked glass.
"Do not make jokes."
"I'm not."
She ordered us outside while officers searched the property.
Twenty minutes later, they confirmed the house was empty.
Claire was gone.
So was something else.
My mother's backup laptop.
I felt sick.
"She knew it was there."
Daniel nodded.
Only three people knew Mom kept a backup computer in the study safe.
Mom.
Me.
Claire.
Maybe Victor.
I looked at him.
He shook his head.
"I didn't know."
I wasn't sure I believed him.
That was the problem now.
Every truth had another truth behind it.
Detective Brooks pulled the alarm logs.
Claire's code had been used.
But that didn't prove Claire herself entered.
Codes could be stolen.
Then the security camera at the rear gate gave us our first useful image.
A black sedan.
Partial license plate.
Driver hidden.
One passenger visible for less than two seconds.
Female.
Dark hair.
Claire had dark hair.
So did thousands of women.
I called her.
Disconnected.
Daniel tried.
Same.
Then I called her sister.
No answer.
At two in the morning, we returned to the Solmere.
I refused to sleep in my mother's house.
Daniel arranged the private penthouse suite.
Technically, it was mine.
That felt meaningless.
I stood by the window looking over the city.
"Tell me everything."
Daniel sat at the dining table.
Victor stood across from him.
For once, neither man argued.
Victor spoke first.
"Your mother discovered unexplained losses sixteen months ago."
"How much?"
"At first, twelve million."
I turned.
"At first?"
"It grew."
"How much?"
He hesitated.
"Nearly seventy million."
My stomach tightened.
"How does seventy million disappear?"
"Slowly."
He explained.
Small transfers.
Consulting contracts.
Renovation overruns.
Vendor companies charging more than they should.
Money scattered across enough accounts that no single payment looked enormous.
My mother noticed because profits were strong but available cash kept shrinking.
"Why didn't she call the police?"
"She didn't know who she could trust."
Daniel added,
"Some transactions appeared to have her own authorization."
My eyes narrowed.
"Forged?"
"Possibly."
"Like the estate amendment."
"Yes."
I looked at Victor.
"Where does Claire fit?"
He rubbed his forehead.
"Eleanor trusted Claire completely."
"So did I."
Daniel looked at me.
"That doesn't mean she's guilty."
"She entered Mom's house tonight."
"Her code did."
I knew he was right.
I hated it.
Victor opened his tablet.
"Three months ago, Eleanor asked me to investigate four companies."
Names appeared.
Northlight Consulting.
Arden Projects.
Crestfall Management.
Bellmere Advisory.
"Who owns them?"
"That's the problem."
Victor showed me corporate records.
Layers of shell companies.
Nominee directors.
Overseas entities.
Then one name appeared repeatedly as registered agent.
Mercer Legal Group.