Chapter 6 - THE SIGNATURE BESIDE HIS NAME
Ethan stared at the ledger.
His name appeared beside a transfer of five million dollars.
The date was six years earlier.
The authorization carried his digital signature.
“I never approved this.”
Claire examined the page.
“The money moved through your executive account.”
“I was in London that week.”
“Can you prove it?”
“Yes.”
“Then someone used your credentials.”
Ethan looked toward the boxes.
“My mother had access.”
“So did Victor.”
“And Olivia,” Claire said.
His expression hardened.
“My sister would not steal from sick children.”
“Neither would I.”
He understood the point.
Trust was no longer evidence.
They needed facts.
Police sealed the hidden room.
The district attorney questioned Ethan for four hours.
By evening, news outlets had learned about Victor’s arrest and the Saint Aurelia fire.
The Whitmore board called an emergency meeting.
Ethan joined by video from the estate.
Eight directors demanded his temporary resignation.
Victor’s empty chair remained at the head of the table.
Board member Charles Denning spoke first.
“The company cannot survive if its chief executive is connected to secret medical facilities and missing funds.”
Ethan placed the ledger before the camera.
“Most of you are connected too.”
Faces changed across the screen.
Charles recovered quickly.
“These documents are unauthenticated.”
“They were found inside my father’s private archive.”
“Your father was mentally unstable before his death.”
“My father did not die.”
Silence followed.
Ethan told them about Saint Aurelia.
He told them about Richard’s recordings.
He did not mention Olivia.
Not yet.
The board voted to suspend him anyway.
Only two directors opposed the motion.
Eleanor became acting chairwoman through an emergency proxy created after Richard’s crash.
Her attorney announced the change publicly.
Within minutes, she stood before cameras outside the estate.
“My son is grieving.”
“He has been manipulated by a woman with a history of theft.”
Claire watched from the library.
The old accusation spread quickly.
Her photograph appeared beside headlines calling her a fugitive former employee.
Ethan entered the room.
“I will release the evidence clearing you.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever moved the five million dollars wants you blamed.”
“If we reveal everything, they will destroy the remaining records.”
He looked at her.
“You still think like an auditor.”
“I spent ten years thinking about this case.”
“What did you do during those ten years?”
“Worked under another name.”
“Moved every six months.”
“Kept Owen safe.”
“Waited for the day your mother stopped watching me.”
Ethan looked down.
“Did you marry?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
He heard the pain behind it.
Before he could respond, Rosa entered the library.
She carried a small envelope.
“This arrived through the kitchen entrance.”
There was no name on the outside.
Inside was a current photograph of Richard sitting in a wheelchair.
A newspaper dated that morning rested in his lap.
A message had been written beneath it.
May you like
DROP THE INVESTIGATION.
OR ETHAN BURIES HIS FATHER TWICE.
