Chapter 5
I went straight to my office.
The room looked normal.
My desk was clean.
The computer was turned off.
The filing cabinet was locked.
But something felt wrong.
I opened the bottom drawer.
The spare key was missing.
I searched the small wooden box where I kept important documents.
Three envelopes were gone.
My stomach tightened.
I knew exactly what had been inside them.
Two contained payment records from construction clients.
The third held copies of documents connected to Lily's inheritance from her mother.
I sat down slowly.
Jasmine had died after a sudden illness.
Before her death, she arranged a trust for Lily.
The money came from life insurance and savings she'd built over years of working as a nurse.
It was supposed to help Lily attend college.
Start her adult life.
And have security if anything happened to me.
I had always kept the trust separate from my business finances.
But I kept copies of the documents in my office.
Now some were missing.
I called Daniel again.
He answered immediately.
"Marcus?"
"I found something else."
I explained the envelopes.
The missing key.
And Lily's statement about writing my name on papers.
Daniel became quiet.
Then he said, "We need to review the trust and your business accounts."
My chest tightened.
"Do you think Natasha accessed them?"
"I don't know yet."
He paused.
"But we need to find out."
The next morning, I met him at his office.
Renee stayed with Lily.
I brought bank statements.
Business records.
Trust documents.
And every message I could find from Natasha.
Daniel examined everything.
Then he asked me a question.
"Did Natasha ever work in your company?"
I shook my head.
"No."
"Did she have access to your business email?"
I hesitated.
"Sometimes."
His expression changed.
"Explain."
I rubbed my forehead.
"She helped me organize appointments when my assistant was on maternity leave."
"Did she know your passwords?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel wrote something down.
Then looked at me.
"Marcus, we should secure those accounts immediately."
I felt sick.
I'd trusted Natasha with my home.
My marriage.
My daughter.
And my business.
Now I was wondering how much damage she'd done.
We contacted my bank.
My accountant.
And the trust administrator.
By afternoon, the first irregularity appeared.
A transfer of eighteen thousand dollars had been made from a business reserve account.
The destination was a company called Heritage Family Services.
I'd never heard of it.
Daniel searched the business registration.
His expression changed.
"Marcus."
I leaned forward.
"What?"
"Natasha is listed as the managing member."
My heart dropped.
I stared at the screen.
Eighteen thousand dollars.
Transferred to her company.
Without my knowledge.
Then my accountant called.
He had found additional payments.
Six thousand.
Nine thousand.
Twelve thousand.
All labeled as consulting expenses.
All sent to the same company.
I felt dizzy.
"How much altogether?"
He hesitated.
"Forty-seven thousand dollars."
I closed my eyes.
Forty-seven thousand dollars.
Money meant to pay employees.
Purchase materials.
Keep projects moving.
And Natasha had apparently been transferring it into a company I didn't know existed.
Daniel asked for the supporting invoices.
Several were missing.
Others appeared to carry my approval.
But I didn't recognize the signatures.
My stomach twisted.
Lily.
The papers Natasha made her sign.
I looked at Daniel.
"She used my daughter."
His expression softened.
"We need to establish exactly what happened."
I nodded.
But my hands were shaking.
That evening, I returned home exhausted.
Renee was making dinner.
Lily sat at the kitchen table drawing.
When she saw me, she smiled.
"Daddy!"
I forced myself to smile back.
"Hey, princess."
She held up her drawing.
It showed a big house.
A bright yellow sun.
Two stick figures holding hands.
One tall.
One small.
I swallowed.
"That's beautiful."
She smiled.
"That's us."
My eyes filled.
I sat beside her.
For a moment, I just watched her color.
Then I asked gently, "Sweetheart, do you remember the papers Natasha asked you to sign?"
Her smile disappeared.
She nodded.
"Yes."
"What did she tell you?"
Lily looked down.
"She said I was practicing grown-up writing."
My chest tightened.
"Did she show you my signature?"
She nodded.
"She said mine needed to look like yours."
I felt my stomach turn.
"Did she get angry if it didn't?"
Lily whispered, "Sometimes."
I closed my eyes.
Then I opened them and looked at her.
"Baby, you did nothing wrong."
Her eyes filled.
"Really?"
"Really."
I pulled her close.
"Adults are responsible for their own choices."
She hugged me tightly.
I held her for a long time.
Later that night, I checked the home security system.
I remembered installing cameras outside after a package theft.
One camera covered the driveway.
Another faced the front entrance.
A third monitored the hallway near my office.
I hadn't reviewed the recordings in months.
I opened the archive.
The system had stored several recent weeks.
I searched for Saturday afternoons.
The first clip showed Natasha leaving with Lily.
My daughter carried a cleaning bucket.
I felt sick.
The next clip showed Natasha returning after dark.
Lily walked slowly behind her.
Then I found something worse.
A recording from two weeks earlier.
Natasha stood outside my office.
Lily was beside her.
My daughter looked frightened.
Natasha bent down and said something.
The camera had no audio.
But the movement was clear.
She pointed toward the office lock.
Then pushed Lily forward.
I watched my daughter take the spare key from a hiding place.
My hands began trembling.
Then another person entered the frame.
A man.
Tall.
Wearing a dark jacket.
I leaned closer.
I recognized him.
Walter.
Natasha's father.
He followed Lily and Natasha into my office.
And suddenly, I understood why her parents had been so comfortable eating dinner while my daughter sat outside.
May you like
They weren't simply ignoring her suffering.
They might have been helping Natasha hide something.
