Chapter 8: The Woman Behind the Company
By the following morning, my house no longer felt like a home.
It felt like a crime scene.
Detective Mitchell had arranged for forensic specialists to examine the documents, the office computers, and the security footage. A locksmith had changed the front-door locks. Daniel had filed an emergency request to freeze all property transactions involving the family trust.
Vanessa was being questioned.
Adrian remained in police custody.
And I was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at a photograph of a woman I had never met.
Her name was Evelyn Cross.
According to Daniel, she was the registered owner of Aster Holdings LLC.
She was also the former business partner of my father.
I looked up.
"Why haven't I heard this name before?""
Daniel sat opposite me.
"Because your father stopped doing business with her twenty years ago.""
"Why?""
"Fraud.""
I leaned forward.
"What kind?""
"Property acquisition schemes. She would approach financially distressed property owners, arrange suspicious loans, and eventually acquire their properties through manipulated contracts.""
I studied the photograph.
Evelyn was in her late sixties, with silver hair and an expensive black suit.
She looked like someone who could walk into a boardroom and convince everyone she owned the building.
"How does Vanessa know her?""
"That's what we're investigating.""
Daniel opened his laptop.
"There's something you should see.""
He turned the screen toward me.
It showed a photograph taken outside a private restaurant.
Vanessa stood beside Evelyn.
Adrian was on Evelyn's other side.
The date was six months before my accident.
I stared at the image.
"How long have they been working together?""
"At least eighteen months.""
I looked again.
Eighteen months.
That meant the betrayal had started long before my blindness.
Before the accident.
Before the hospital.
Before I had ever suspected anything.
"Why would Evelyn want my property?""
Daniel opened another document.
"Because your mother's trust owns land near the eastern waterfront development.""
I recognized the address.
A massive commercial project was being planned in that area. A new transportation hub, residential towers, and several office complexes were expected to transform the neighborhood.
The land owned by my mother's trust sat directly in the middle of the development zone.
Its value had increased dramatically.
"How much is it worth?""
"Current estimates put the waterfront parcel at approximately fourteen million dollars.""
I stared at the screen.
"And Evelyn wants it.""
"More than that. She wants the entire trust.""
Daniel showed me another document.
It was a proposed acquisition agreement.
The buyer was Aster Holdings.
The seller was listed as the Eleanor Hale Family Trust.
The purchase price was four million dollars.
I laughed once.
It wasn't a happy sound.
"They're trying to buy a twenty-two-million-dollar estate for four million?""
"That's the plan.""
"Who approved it?""
"Nobody. The document is fraudulent.""
I looked at the signature line.
There it was again.
My name.
My forged signature.
I leaned back.
"How much money have they already taken?""
"From your company, approximately $640,000. From the personal accounts, another $210,000.""
I stared at him.
"Over eight hundred thousand dollars.""
"Yes.""
"And the property transfer?""
"Attempted, but not completed.""
I rubbed my forehead.
"Where did all the money go?""
Daniel turned the laptop around.
"Most of it went through three shell companies. One belongs to Adrian. Another is connected to Evelyn. The third is registered to someone called Nathan Hale.""
I looked up.
My brother's face appeared in my mind.
"That's not possible.""
Daniel nodded.
"We need to verify it.""
I immediately called Nathan.
He answered after two rings.
"Marcus?""
"Where are you?""
"At home.""
"Did you register a company called Hale Consulting?""
There was a long pause.
Then he sighed.
"Yes.""
My jaw tightened.
"Why?""
"Vanessa asked me to.""
"What?""
"She said she needed a legitimate company to receive payments for temporary consulting work.""
"How much?""
"She promised me twenty thousand dollars.""
I closed my eyes.
"Did you receive it?""
"Yes.""
"Where is the money?""
"I haven't touched it.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I knew it looked bad.""
I gripped the phone.
"Nathan, you gave them a company in your name to move stolen money.""
"I didn't know it was stolen!""
"Did you ask?""
He didn't answer.
I ended the call.
Daniel watched me.
"He's involved, but that doesn't automatically mean he understood the full scheme.""
"He's my brother. He knew enough to ask questions.""
Daniel nodded.
"Then let the investigators determine his role.""
A knock sounded at the front door.
Detective Mitchell entered with another officer.
"Mr. Hale, we have an update.""
I stood carefully.
"What happened?""
"We found Evelyn Cross.""
"Where?""
"At a private residence outside the city.""
"Did you arrest her?""
"Not yet.""
She placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Evelyn entering a medical office.
"She's been using the identity of Dr. Reeves's former business partner to access restricted medical records.""
My stomach tightened.
"Why?""
Detective Mitchell opened a folder.
"Because she wanted to know whether you were likely to recover.""
I stared at the photograph.
"She was monitoring my medical condition?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
"Because the property transfer would be much easier if you remained legally incapacitated.""
I felt sick.
Then the detective removed another document.
"We also discovered that the hospital had received an anonymous payment to keep your treatment records confidential.""
"From Evelyn?""
"Possibly. But the transfer came through a foundation.""
She showed me the foundation's name.
*THE ELEANOR HALE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.*
I froze.
"That's my mother's foundation.""
Detective Mitchell nodded.
"It was dissolved five years ago.""
"Who controlled it?""
"According to the records, its final director was your mother's attorney.""
I looked at the photograph of Evelyn again.
Something wasn't right.
My mother had died three years ago.
The foundation had been dissolved five years ago.
But the fraudulent payments had begun less than a year ago.
Someone had revived an organization that no longer existed.
Someone had used my mother's name.
Someone who knew exactly how to access her old records.
I turned toward Daniel.
"Who has the original foundation documents?""
He looked at me.
"Your mother's attorney.""
"Mr. Harrison?""
Daniel nodded.
"But he's dead.""
I slowly opened the drawer beside the kitchen table.
Inside was my mother's old letter.
I turned it over.
For the first time, I noticed a small handwritten note beneath her signature.
A name.
Not Margaret Harrison.
Not Evelyn Cross.
A name I recognized immediately.
*Robert Hale.*
My father's younger brother.
My uncle.
The man who had attended my wedding, held me at my mother's funeral, and disappeared from our lives shortly afterward.
I looked at Detective Mitchell.
"Where is Robert Hale?""
Her expression changed.
"That's interesting.""
"Why?""
She removed a photograph from her folder.
It showed Evelyn Cross entering a hotel.
Walking beside her was an older man.
Detective Mitchell placed her finger on his face.
"Because we believe he is currently living under the name Richard Coleman.""
I stared at the photograph.
It was my uncle.
The man who had once taught me how to ride a bicycle.
May you like
The man who had vanished twenty years ago.
And apparently, the man who had been waiting all these years to take everything my mother had left behind.
