We drove through the night with the lake disappearing behind us.
Daniel said almost nothing.
Neither did I.
Elaine's warning kept repeating in my head: your father has attempted to move the remaining Northstar assets.
I kept Grandpa's letter on the passenger seat.
The paper had become slightly bent at the corner from how many times I had unfolded it.
By the time we reached the city, the sky was beginning to lighten.
The bank opened at eight.
We arrived at seven forty-five.
Elaine was already waiting.
She stood beside the entrance with a dark coat pulled tightly around her.
When she saw us, she walked straight toward me.
“You need to understand something before we go inside.”
“What?”
“The transfer may already have occurred.”
My stomach tightened.
“How much?”
“Almost everything.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Then we're too late.”
“Not necessarily,” Elaine said.
She handed me a folder.
“The Northstar agreement contains a clause your father may not know exists.”
I opened it.
The final paragraph was marked in red.
“If unauthorized control of the protective assets is attempted, all remaining assets become subject to automatic preservation.”
“What does preservation mean?”
“The bank freezes them.”
I looked at her.
“So if Dad tried to move them—”
“He may have triggered the clause.”
Daniel exhaled.
“How much remains?”
“Approximately four hundred thousand dollars.”
I looked at him.
“That isn't everything.”
“No.”
“Where did the rest go?”
Elaine's expression hardened.
“That is what we're here to find out.”
We entered the bank.
A senior officer met us in a private conference room.
He introduced himself as Mr. Reynolds.
He placed several documents on the table.
“The Northstar account was accessed yesterday at 9:17 p.m.”
“By my father?”
“Using credentials assigned to him.”
“Was the transfer completed?”
“Partially.”
I leaned forward.
“How much?”
“Three hundred eighty-seven thousand dollars was initiated.”
Daniel looked at me.
“That matches the amount from the old records.”
“Not exactly,” Reynolds said.
He opened another document.
“The destination account rejected the transfer.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“The receiving bank flagged the transaction.”
“Because of Northstar?”
“Because of the ownership structure.”
Relief came and disappeared almost immediately.
“So the money is still here.”
“Most of it.”
“Most?”
Reynolds nodded.
“Twenty-eight thousand dollars was transferred separately.”
“To whom?”
He pushed another page toward me.
The destination account belonged to Carter Family Properties.
My mother's company.
I stared at the account number.
“Mom.”
Daniel looked stunned.
“Dad moved money to Mom?”
“Apparently.”
I shook my head.
“Why?”
Reynolds looked at Elaine.
Elaine answered.
“Possibly to make the transaction appear legitimate.”
I didn't like the answer.
“Could Mom have authorized it?”
“We don't know.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Call her.”
He took out his phone.
She answered immediately.
“Daniel?”
“Mom, where are you?”
“At home.”
“Did Dad transfer money into Carter Family Properties?”
Silence.
“Mom?”
“I don't know.”
“Twenty-eight thousand dollars.”
Her breathing changed.
“Rachel is there, isn't she?”
“Yes.”
“Put her on.”
I took the phone.
“Mom.”
“I didn't know he was doing that.”
“Did he ask you to accept the money?”
“No.”
“Did you give him access?”
“I gave him the account years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because he told me the property company needed emergency protection.”
I closed my eyes.
“Mom, the account is frozen.”
“What?”
“Northstar's funds are under review.”
She started crying.
“Your father said everything was settled.”
“It isn't.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me what you know.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because he's coming home.”
I looked at Daniel.
“When?”
“He said he would be there this morning.”
Elaine took the phone.
“Mrs. Carter, this is Elaine Porter.”
Mom went silent.
“I need you to stay where you are,” Elaine said. “Do not sign anything. Do not authorize any transfers.”
“Why?”
“Because your husband may be attempting to create a false chain of authorization.”
Mom began crying again.
“I didn't understand any of this.”
Elaine's voice softened.
“We believe you.”
The call ended.
Daniel stared at the table.
“She knew something.”
“Maybe.”
“She always knows more than she says.”
I looked at him.
“So do you.”
He accepted that without argument.
Mr. Reynolds returned with another file.
“There is something else.”
He opened it.
The twenty-eight-thousand-dollar transfer had not originated from the Northstar account.
It came from a different account.
I recognized the number.
It was the company's reserve account.
I looked at Elaine.
“What does that mean?”
She read the document.
Then her face changed.
“Your father has accessed Carter Home Systems directly.”
Daniel stood.
“How?”
“His executive credentials may still be active.”
“But we removed him.”
“Administrative access wasn't fully terminated.”
I felt a cold rush through me.
“Whose responsibility was that?”
The bank officer answered carefully.
“The company's internal security team.”
I thought of the interim chief executive.
“Then we have a problem.”
We left the bank at eight thirty.
I called the company's security director.
He answered immediately.
“Rachel?”
“Shut down every former executive credential.”
“We already did.”
“No. Someone accessed the reserve account last night.”
Silence.
“That shouldn't be possible.”
“But it happened.”
He checked something.
Then his voice changed.
“Rachel, I have an alert.”
“What kind?”
“A physical access event.”
“Where?”
“The old executive office.”
Daniel looked at me.
“What time?”
“Five twelve this morning.”
I checked the clock.
It was almost nine.
“Is anyone there?”
“I don't know.”
“Send security.”
“We have someone on the way.”
“Don't wait.”
I hung up.
Daniel stared at me.
“Dad is at the company.”
“Maybe.”
“What else would he be doing there?”
I didn't answer.
We drove straight back.
When we arrived, security vehicles were already outside.
The main doors were open.
A security officer ran toward us.
“Ms. Carter.”
“What happened?”
“We found your father's car.”
“Where?”
“In the underground garage.”
“Is he inside?”
“We haven't located him.”
Daniel swore.
We entered through the service corridor.
The building was unusually quiet.
Then I saw the executive elevator.
Its doors were open.
A folder lay on the floor.
Daniel picked it up.
The first page was an old acquisition agreement.
Harrison Vale's name was visible.
I looked at Daniel.
“He was preparing the sale again.”
We hurried toward the executive floor.
My father's office door was open.
The room had been searched.
Drawers were hanging open.
Files were scattered across the floor.
But Dad wasn't there.
I walked toward his desk.
There was a note on top.
My name was written on it.
I opened it.
Three words.
Ask your mother.
I stared at the handwriting.
Daniel stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
I handed him the paper.
He read it.
Then his phone rang.
It was Mom.
Her voice was shaking.
“Rachel.”
“What happened?”
“Your father came here.”
“When?”
“About twenty minutes ago.”
“Where is he now?”
“He left.”
“With what?”
Silence.
“Mom?”
“He took Grandpa's old key.”
My heart stopped.
“Which key?”
“The one from the lake house.”
I looked at Daniel.
He understood immediately.
There was one place we hadn't searched.
The bank archive.
And Grandpa's key had probably been intended for it.
Click here to continue reading: PART 10: My Mother Finally Told Me Why Dad Took Grandpa’s Key, and the Answer Exposed the One Secret the Family Had Spent Years Protecting
My Family Laughed When My Mother Called Me Their Biggest Mistake, But They Had No Idea What Had Already Changed Behind Their Backs
Part 9 of 12
