Chapter 10 - The First Missing Account
Thomas insisted the project was real.
He claimed a land deal had been delayed.
I asked him to show us the account holding investor funds.
He refused.
Marta demanded it.
“Thomas, show me.”
He became angry.
“You don’t understand business.”
Her face hardened.
“I understand three hundred thousand dollars.”
He paced toward the sink.
I remained by the folder.
“Where is her money?”
“It’s invested.”
“In what?”
“Pre-development costs.”
“Name one.”
He could not.
I opened my phone and logged into the state corporate registry.
TMR Development listed a registered agent in Wyoming.
The business address belonged to a virtual office.
No property holdings appeared under the name.
Marta sat down.
The towel fell from her hand.
“What did you do?”
Thomas turned toward me.
“This is your fault.”
The accusation was so absurd that even Marta looked at him.
He continued.
“If you had added me to the deed, I could have secured proper financing.”
“You tried to forge my signature.”
“Because you would have said no.”
“Yes.”
“You never support me.”
“I paid our living costs while you built a fake company.”
“It wasn’t fake.”
“Then where is the money?”
He looked at his mother.
Then at the broken vase.
Then at the sealed folder.
May you like
His eyes settled on the hallway.
He was calculating whether he could leave before we stopped him.
