Chapter 7 - What Daniel Failed to See.
Daniel waited until Reese left the library before asking Evelyn to speak privately.
She almost refused.
The last twenty-four hours had stripped away her patience for apologies that arrived after proof.
Still, she followed him into the conservatory because avoiding the conversation would not make it disappear.
Sunlight poured through the glass ceiling and warmed rows of white orchids.
It was the most peaceful room in the mansion.
Evelyn hated that Daniel had chosen it.
"I should have taken the messages seriously," he said.
"Yes."
He flinched at the simplicity of her answer.
"I thought Celeste was angry, not dangerous."
"You thought history made her predictable."
Daniel looked down.
"She grew up here."
"So everyone kept explaining her behavior instead of stopping it."
He had no defense for that.
Evelyn rested one hand over her stomach.
"The first anonymous message said I was temporary."
Daniel's face tightened.
"I remember."
"The second one said the house would reject me before the family did."
"I remember that too."
"And you told me not to let someone with too much time ruin my peace."
He closed his eyes.
The sentence sounded much worse now than when he had said it.
"I was wrong."
"You were comfortable."
Daniel looked at her.
"There is a difference."
"I know."
She stepped closer.
"Being wrong means you missed something."
"Being comfortable means you saw enough to ask questions and chose not to."
Daniel did not answer.
For several seconds, only the fountain outside could be heard through the glass.
Then he removed his phone from his pocket.
"There is something you need to see."
He opened an email from the Whitmore Foundation's accountant.
The subject line read: URGENT - DISCRETIONARY TRANSFERS.
Evelyn scanned the message.
Over the previous six months, a series of payments totaling nearly two hundred thousand dollars had moved from a community arts fund into three consulting accounts.
All three accounts had been approved through Daniel's proxy access while he was traveling.
"I did not approve these," Daniel said.
Evelyn looked at the signature history.
"Who had access to your proxy credentials?"
Daniel's expression said he already knew.
"My mother."
"And Celeste?"
"She handled event administration for the foundation last year."
Evelyn sat down slowly.
Now the messages made sense in a way jealousy never fully had.
If Daniel changed the board and gave Evelyn his temporary proxy, she would see the transfer records.
Celeste had not simply wanted Evelyn out of Daniel's life.
She needed her away from the foundation.
"Why didn't you tell Reese this earlier?"
"I received it thirty minutes ago."
Daniel forwarded the email to the detective.
His phone rang almost immediately.
Reese did not waste time with greetings.
"Do not discuss the transfer details with Celeste."
Daniel glanced at Evelyn.
"Too late."
"How much did you tell her?"
"Nothing yet."
"Keep it that way."
Evelyn heard papers moving on Reese's end.
"The prepaid phone sent messages to three numbers besides Evelyn's."
"Who?"
"One belongs to the security contractor who installed your cameras."
Daniel's face changed.
"Why would Celeste contact him?"
"We are finding out."
Reese paused.
"The second belongs to a records clerk at the foundation."
Evelyn felt a chill.
"And the third?"
Another pause.
"The third number is registered to a private investigator named Martin Vale."
Daniel frowned.
"I don't know him."
Evelyn did.
She had seen the name once before on a receipt left near Celeste's place at dinner three weeks earlier.
At the time, Celeste had covered it with her hand and laughed about hiring someone to locate a missing college friend.
"She hired him," Evelyn said.
Daniel stared at her.
Reese heard it through the phone.
"Why do you think that?"
Evelyn told him about the receipt.
Reese became quiet.
Then he said the words that changed the day again.
"We just ran Vale's business license."
"And?" Daniel asked.
"It was suspended last year for illegal access to private digital accounts."
Evelyn looked through the glass toward the mansion.
Somewhere inside, Celeste was still acting like the victim of a setup.
But the pattern around her was becoming impossible to ignore.
Daniel lowered his voice.
"What happens now?"
May you like
Reese answered immediately.
"Now we find Martin Vale before Celeste realizes we know his name."
