Chapter 5
For several seconds, I couldn't take my eyes off Maya's name.
Maya Whitmore.
My twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter.
The girl I had helped raise since she was sixteen.
The girl I had taught to drive.
The girl whose college graduation I had attended with tears in my eyes.
Her name appeared on an expense authorization linked to the questionable condo payments.
I looked at Natalie.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded carefully.
"The account records list her as an authorized contact."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Does that mean she took money?"
"Not necessarily. We need to determine what she actually knew and whether she approved anything."
Rebecca leaned forward.
"Arthur, don't confront her with an accusation."
I nodded.
But my mind was racing.
Maya had seemed genuinely shocked when she discovered her grandmother was paying rent.
She had apologized.
She had begun helping around the house.
Was all of that another performance?
Or had Jasmine used her daughter too?
I didn't know.
And that uncertainty hurt.
That evening, I found Maya in the living room.
She was folding her own laundry.
I stood in the doorway for a moment.
She looked up.
"Hey, Arthur."
"Can we talk?"
Her expression changed.
"Sure."
I sat across from her.
"Do you remember telling me about the condo?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Did your mother ever ask you to sign paperwork connected to it?"
Maya frowned.
"Paperwork?"
"Anything related to the apartment. Or my company."
She thought for a moment.
Then her eyes widened.
"Wait."
I remained quiet.
"Mom asked me to sign some documents last summer."
My stomach tightened.
"What documents?"
"She said they were for a family investment."
"Did you read them?"
Maya looked embarrassed.
"No."
I closed my eyes briefly.
"Why not?"
"Because she told me everything was already approved."
I looked at her.
"Did she mention my company?"
Maya nodded slowly.
"She said it was connected to one of your business projects."
I leaned forward.
"Did she tell you what you were signing?"
"Not really."
"Do you have copies?"
She shook her head.
Then paused.
"Maybe."
I waited.
"I took pictures because I thought the documents looked important."
My heartbeat quickened.
"Can you find them?"
She reached for her phone.
After several minutes, she opened a folder.
"There."
I looked at the images.
They showed several documents.
A vendor registration form.
A payment authorization.
And a statement identifying Maya as an administrative contact.
I felt relief and fear at the same time.
The images might help establish what happened.
But they also confirmed how easily Jasmine had drawn her daughter into the situation.
"Can you send these to Rebecca?" I asked.
Maya stared at me.
"Am I in trouble?"
I softened my voice.
"We're trying to determine the truth."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Mom told me it was normal."
I nodded.
"I believe that's what she told you."
Maya began crying.
"I didn't take anything, Arthur."
I reached across the table.
"I'm not accusing you."
She wiped her face.
"I don't understand why she would do this."
Neither did I.
Not completely.
I had loved Jasmine for six years.
I knew she enjoyed expensive things.
I knew she cared about appearances.
I knew she sometimes complained that I worked too much.
But I had never imagined she would risk my company.
Or involve her own daughter.
The next morning, Maya met Rebecca with an independent attorney available to advise her.
I wanted her protected.
Even if the truth became uncomfortable.
She provided the photographs and explained what Jasmine had told her.
Natalie began comparing the images with the original financial records.
By that afternoon, we had learned something important.
Maya's name had been used as an administrative contact.
But there was no clear evidence that she had initiated the suspicious payments.
The records instead pointed toward Jasmine's access credentials and a separate consultant.
I asked Natalie about the consultant.
His name was Victor Hale.
I recognized it immediately.
Victor was a financial adviser Jasmine had introduced me to at a charity dinner two years earlier.
He had been charming.
Well dressed.
And unusually interested in my business.
I remembered Jasmine saying he was helping her learn about investments.
I had thought nothing of it.
Now I wondered what kind of investments they had discussed.
"Is Victor connected to Horizon Lifestyle Solutions?" I asked.
Natalie nodded.
"He appears to have an ownership interest."
My stomach sank.
"And the condo?"
"His business has received payments associated with the property."
I looked at Rebecca.
"Could he be involved in the unauthorized transactions?"
"That's one possibility. We need more evidence."
I nodded.
Then I remembered something.
Six months earlier, Jasmine had asked me to hire Victor as a consultant.
I had refused.
His fees were too high.
And his proposal lacked detail.
Jasmine had been furious.
She accused me of not respecting her judgment.
We barely spoke for two days.
Now I wondered whether that argument had been about much more than hurt feelings.
That evening, Lorraine called.
Her voice sounded exhausted.
"Arthur, may I speak with you?"
"Of course."
"I think we need to meet."
I hesitated.
"Is Jasmine with you?"
"No."
Something in her tone worried me.
"What's wrong?"
Lorraine sighed.
"I found some documents in Jasmine's old bedroom."
My heartbeat quickened.
"What kind of documents?"
"Financial records. Property papers. And letters."
I closed my eyes.
"From whom?"
"A man named Victor Hale."
I went completely still.
Lorraine continued.
"I don't understand everything I'm looking at. But some of it concerns your company."
I took a slow breath.
"Please don't destroy or change anything."
"I won't."
"Can you bring them to Rebecca's office tomorrow?"
"Yes."
Then she said something that surprised me.
"Arthur, I'm sorry."
I swallowed.
"For what?"
"For believing Jasmine without asking questions."
I stared at the wall.
Lorraine's voice broke.
"I raised her better than this."
I didn't know how to answer.
Then she whispered, "I think my daughter has been lying to all of us."
The following morning, Lorraine arrived at Rebecca's office carrying a cardboard box.
Inside were letters, bank statements, and copies of property agreements.
Some appeared to document loans.
Others referenced the downtown condo.
Then Rebecca removed a sealed envelope.
It had my name written across the front.
Arthur Bennett.
Inside was a typed letter.
It was dated eight months earlier.
The letter claimed that I had agreed to personally guarantee certain obligations connected to Horizon Lifestyle Solutions.
At the bottom was a copy of my signature.
Again, the middle initial was missing.
I stared at it.
Then Lorraine began crying.
"Arthur, Jasmine told me you were helping her establish financial independence."
I looked at her.
"And you believed her?"
"Yes."
She wiped her eyes.
"She said you wanted the condo to be a surprise."
A surprise.
I almost laughed.
Instead, I looked back at the documents.
And noticed a handwritten note clipped to one page.
It was addressed to Jasmine.
"Final funding depends on Arthur's continued cooperation."
Below it was another sentence.
"Keep him unaware until everything is completed."
The note was signed Victor.
My hands went cold.
May you like
Because suddenly, the condo wasn't simply an expensive secret.
It was part of a much larger plan.
