Chapter 12 - The Accountant
Howard Pierce lived in a modest house surrounded by pine trees.
When Victor arrived, the old accountant did not seem surprised.
“You look like Grace.”
Victor frowned.
“Nobody has ever told me that.”
“I didn’t mean physically.”
Howard opened the door wider.
“She had the same expression when she realized the family business wasn’t what she thought it was.”
Inside, Howard brought out a metal document box.
Grace had given it to him four days before her death.
He had promised to release it only if Ethan’s trust was threatened.
Victor removed the first file.
Financial transfers.
Consulting payments.
Internal memoranda.
Adrian’s name appeared repeatedly.
So did Larkin Consulting.
Then Victor found something worse.
A strategy memorandum had been prepared years before Ethan was even born.
It described a hypothetical “beneficiary protection event.”
If the controlling trustee were accused of negligence, emergency voting authority could transfer to the alternate trustee.
Victor looked at Howard.
“Adrian planned this before Ethan existed?”
“Not Ethan specifically.”
Howard shook his head.
“He wanted a mechanism that could be used against whoever eventually controlled Grace’s shares.”
Victor continued reading.
Serena had been paid through Larkin.
Daniel’s name appeared too.
Victor’s eyes hardened.
Daniel stepped forward.
“I never received that money.”
Howard nodded.
“I know.”
The account was created using Daniel’s identity.
Someone had been preparing him as the fall guy.
Victor finally understood Daniel’s fear.
Then Howard handed Victor the last envelope.
Grace had written his name across the front.
Victor opened it.
Inside was a copy of the original trust.
A handwritten note was attached.
Adrian is dangerous.
But he is not working alone.
Victor looked up.
“Who else?”
Howard hesitated.
“Grace believed someone on the Blackwood board was protecting him.”
“Who?”
“She never proved it.”
Howard walked toward an old desk.
He removed a photograph of the Blackwood board from four years earlier.
Grace had circled three people.
Adrian.
Charles Blackwood.
And Margaret Vale.
Victor stared at the third name.
Serena’s mother.
His fiancée had always told him her mother died when she was a teenager.
Victor turned toward Marcus.
“Find Margaret Vale.”
Marcus searched.
After several minutes, his face changed.
“Victor.”
“What?”
May you like
“Margaret Vale is alive.”
“And she’s currently a voting member of the Blackwood Foundation.”
