Chapter 7 - The Money He Couldn't Find
Ethan spent the next hour making calls.
None worked.
His father demanded answers.
His bank demanded documentation.
His attorney demanded that he stop moving assets.
Every call made him look worse.
Meanwhile, Maya sat quietly in a private lounge.
Her lawyer arrived twenty minutes later.
“You did everything correctly.”
Maya looked at him.
“What's next?”
“We identify where the remaining money went.”
Maya nodded.
“I want every dollar accounted for.”
Her lawyer opened his laptop.
“There is one transfer we haven't explained.”
Maya leaned forward.
“How much?”
He showed her.
Maya recognized the account.
Her stomach tightened.
“That belongs to Ethan's father.”
“Yes.”
“Why would Ethan move money there?”
“We don't know.”
Maya stared at the transaction.
Then she noticed the date.
It was from six months earlier.
Before the affair.
Before the Cancún trip.
Before the property documents.
Before everything she thought had caused the collapse.
Maya's expression changed.
“Wait.”
Her lawyer looked up.
“What?”
“This started much earlier.”
He nodded.
“That's what the records suggest.”
Maya leaned back.
Suddenly, the betrayal was larger than she had imagined.
Ethan hadn't started stealing because of the trip.
The trip was simply the moment he thought he could finish.
And that meant there was another reason.
Another account.
Another plan.
Possibly another person.
Her lawyer closed the laptop.
“We'll find it.”
Maya looked through the glass wall toward the terminal.
Ethan was still there.
Alone now.
His family had left him.
His luggage remained scattered around him.
Maya watched him for several seconds.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A man's voice said:
“Mrs. Harper, I think you should know what your husband was planning to do with your company.”
Maya's eyes narrowed.
May you like
“Who are you?”
The line went dead.
