Chapter 10 - The Uncle in the Mirror.
Jennifer called Claire immediately.
Claire answered on the second ring.
Her voice was tight.
“Jennifer?”
“Are you still in the lobby?”
“Is Noah with you?”
“Did a man named Thomas Hale approach you?”
Claire finally said, “He said he was Daniel's uncle.”
“He told me Daniel had lied to everyone, but that you were making a mistake by trusting Owen.”
Jennifer asked, “Did Thomas threaten you?”
“No.”
“He gave me an envelope.”
“Go somewhere you feel safe and text me when you arrive.”
Richard asked, “Why would Thomas warn Claire about you?”
“Because Thomas hates me.”
“After Caroline died, I confronted Thomas privately.”
“I knew she suspected him.”
“I didn't have the full packet you just heard.”
“Thomas admitted taking money.”
Margaret whispered, “And you did not tell Richard?”
“Thomas said he had already repaid most of it and that exposing him would destroy Richard after Caroline's death.”
“So everyone protected me by lying to me.”
“I demanded proof of repayment.”
“Thomas gave me records.”
“They looked legitimate.”
“Years later, I learned they were not.”
Jennifer asked, “Did Daniel know about that confrontation?”
“I don't know.”
“Could Thomas have taught him how the shell companies worked?”
“Yes.”
“Could you?”
Owen had spent the evening providing truth, but truth did not make him automatically trustworthy.
“Yes.”
“I had access to the records.”
“Did you help my son?”
“No.”
“Can you prove it?”
“Five years ago, when Daniel showed me evidence that the old shell companies were active again, I helped him trace them.”
“You keep revealing the truth in pieces.”
“Because each piece makes me look worse.”
“That is not a reason to hide it.”
“No.”
“Daniel convinced me Thomas had restarted the transfers.”
“I helped Daniel create a monitoring account to catch where the money went.”
“What account?” Jennifer asked.
“Westlake Strategic Partners.”
“It was supposed to be a temporary tracking vehicle.”
“Daniel controlled it after I left.”
“You created the company that later moved Caroline's reserve money.”
“That makes you part of this.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I discovered Daniel had moved money through Westlake without telling me.”
“When I confronted him, he produced altered emails suggesting I had authorized it.”
“He threatened to give them to Richard.”
“I resigned before he could.”
Owen created Westlake.
Margaret delivered a signature card.
Claire texted Jennifer an address confirming she had reached a friend's apartment.
Jennifer asked Claire to open it while they stayed on the phone.
Inside was a photocopy of a bank wire and a short handwritten note.
Jennifer, Owen Pike is telling the truth about Daniel, but not about himself.
Ask him who received $600,000 on March 18, 2021.
Jennifer looked at Owen.
“What happened that day?”
“I received money.”
“How much?”
Owen whispered, “Six hundred thousand.”
“From whom?”
“Thomas.”
“For what?”
“To keep quiet.”
Owen continued before Richard could speak.
“I took it.”
“I told myself I would hold it until I could prove the larger scheme.”
“I told myself I could use it as leverage.”
“But I took it.”
Jennifer asked, “Do you still have it?”
“Most of it.”
“Where?”
“In an account my attorney controls.”
Owen's voice broke.
“It means Daniel has a dead-man transfer.”
“A set of instructions that moves money automatically if he fails to cancel them.”
Jennifer felt a new clock begin ticking.
“How long?”
Owen checked the date on the ledger.
“If he built it the way I taught him years ago, the transfer executes at noon after a missed confirmation.”
Richard looked at his watch.
May you like
Midnight had passed.
Jennifer whispered, “Then we have twelve hours.”
