Chapter 9: "Then Who Am I Looking At?"
She looked nothing like the polished woman who had stood beside Vanessa at the airport.
She sat across from me but avoided my eyes.
Helen placed a recorder on the table.
“This conversation is being documented.”
Lauren nodded.
“I understand.”
“Start with Paris,” I said.
Lauren removed her sunglasses.
Her eyes were swollen.
“Daniel told us you both agreed to separate.”
“You believed him?”
“I wanted to.”
The answer was more honest than an excuse.
“Why?”
“Because he promised me a position on the clinic board.”
I stared at her.
“You helped him replace me for a job?”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
“How was it supposed to happen?”
Lauren began crying.
I felt no urge to comfort her.
She had watched me love her family for twelve years.
She had accepted my help whenever she needed it.
Then she traded me for a title.
“Daniel said you wanted to leave Chicago,” she said.
“He said you were going to sell the hospital property to an investment group.”
“That was false.”
“I know that now.”
“You knew Vanessa was sleeping with him.”
“Yes.”
“And you still went on the trip.”
Lauren covered her face.
“Dad said the marriage was already over.”
“Richard knew about the affair?”
“He encouraged it.”
Helen leaned forward.
“Why?”
“Vanessa had access to foundation records.”
The room became still.
Lauren continued.
“Daniel needed documents showing that Bennett Cardiac Innovations had generated more revenue than it actually had.”
“For the loan application,” Marcus said.
Lauren nodded.
“The lender required proof of growth.”
“Vanessa altered the reports?”
“Yes.”
“What did she receive?”
“Money and a board appointment.”
“And Paris?”
“It was supposed to be a celebration.”
My stomach turned.
They were celebrating before the theft had even succeeded.
“What was Richard’s role?”
Lauren looked toward the door.
“He opened the account.”
“Why was he receiving the money?”
“He said it was temporary.”
“You don’t believe that anymore.”
“No.”
She removed a folded paper from her bag.
It was a printed email.
Richard had instructed the bank to transfer the funds from his account into three overseas entities.
Daniel did not appear as an owner of any of them.
Neither did Lauren.
Richard planned to steal from his own accomplices.
“Where did you get this?” Helen asked.
“Dad left it in his printer.”
“Does Daniel know?”
“No.”
“Why bring it to us?”
Lauren’s face hardened.
“Because Daniel told the police I forged Rachel’s signature.”
I stared at her.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Were you present?”
Lauren hesitated.
“I notarized the document.”
The admission hung in the air.
“You notarized a signature you did not witness.”
“Yes.”
“That is fraud.”
“I know.”
“Why should I believe anything you say?”
“Because I have the original.”
She opened her bag again.
This time, she removed the transfer authorization.
My false signature appeared at the bottom.
Beside it was Lauren’s notary stamp.
On the reverse side, someone had written a note.
Practice R’s signature again.
The handwriting was Daniel’s.
I recognized the sharp angle of the letters.
So did Helen.
Lauren placed both hands on the table.
“I will testify.”
“Against your brother?”
“Against all of them.”
“You expect immunity?”
“I expect nothing.”
I studied her for several seconds.
She was not choosing me.
She was choosing survival.
Still, the evidence mattered.
“Where is Vanessa?” I asked.
May you like
Lauren looked at me.
“She disappeared last night.”
