Chapter 13 - The Man Running My Investigation
David Cross did not deny accessing the file.
That surprised me.
We met in Carter Group’s executive conference room Sunday afternoon.
Jenna sat beside me.
Claire refused to come.
David closed the door himself.
“You shouldn’t possess Schedule C.”
I almost laughed.
“That’s your defense?”
“It isn’t a defense.”
“You remotely accessed evidence connected to my daughter’s trust.”
“I verified that the copy was authentic.”
“Without permission.”
“You’re on administrative leave.”
“This is not company property.”
“Richard created part of that record using company systems.”
I leaned forward.
“My mother assaulted Lily because Lily saw her stealing documents from my safe.”
David’s face changed.
“Did Marlene hurt her?”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am.”
“You’re working with her.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You used the same hidden initials in the ledger.”
His gaze sharpened.
“D.C.”
“Yes.”
“Caroline figured that out?”
“She did.”
David sat back.
For the first time, he appeared less like a board director and more like an aging man who had slept badly.
“Your father should have told you.”
“Told me what?”
“That the trust was compromised before you became trustee.”
“By Marlene?”
“Partly.”
“Evan?”
“Partly.”
“By you?”
He did not answer quickly enough.
I stood.
Jenna touched my wrist.
Not to restrain me.
To remind me.
Evidence.
Not rage.
David noticed.
“Caroline understood that better than you do.”
My voice dropped.
“Do not use my wife against me.”
“I’m not.”
“You knew she was investigating.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Blue Heron.”
“Yes.”
“You let the transfers continue.”
“For a time.”
“Why?”
“To identify where the money ended.”
“And where did it end?”
David looked at the closed door.
“I never found the final beneficiary.”
“That sounds convenient.”
“It kept your father awake for months.”
“Then why did you suspend me?”
“Because if I hadn’t, the audit committee would have been replaced before Monday.”
I stared at him.
“By whom?”
“Evan filed an emergency governance notice alleging your compromised judgment exposed the company.”
“Evan doesn’t control the board.”
“No. But the lenders listen to him because he represents the family trust.”
Jenna spoke for the first time.
“Unless the independent protection clause invalidates his authority.”
David looked at her.
“You found it?”
“We found a reference.”
His expression changed immediately.
“Then Marlene is in more trouble than she realizes.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard did not create that clause to keep her out.”
I felt something cold move through me.
“Who was it meant to stop?”
David stood.
“You need the original activation copy.”
“Caroline had it.”
“Then find where she put it.”
“My mother had Caroline’s phone.”
“Which means Marlene never found the activation copy.”
“How do you know?”
“Because if she had, she wouldn’t need guardianship.”
That made sense.
Too much sense.
I looked at Jenna.
“Where would Caroline hide something she knew my mother wanted?”
My phone buzzed.
Lily.
She was home with a sitter Jenna had personally vetted.
I answered immediately.
“Daddy?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I found Mommy’s blue box.”
My heart stopped.
“What blue box?”
“The one Grandma was looking for.”
I stood so fast the chair rolled backward.
“Where are you?”
“In Mommy’s closet.”
“Don’t touch anything else. I’m coming home.”
Lily whispered, “Dad?”
“Yes?”
“There’s a picture inside.”
“Of what?”
She hesitated.
“Grandma and Mr. Evan.”
Then her voice became smaller.
May you like
“And Mommy is behind them.”
📖 Discover what Caroline hid inside the blue box—and why one photograph suggested she had confronted Marlene and Evan days before her death in CHAPTER 14. 👇
