Chapter 6 - THE TRAITOR WITHIN
Daniel drove back toward Boston through a pouring rainstorm, his knuckles white against the steering wheel.
He had left the children safely in Cape Cod under the heavy protection of two private security guards he had hired through a reputable agency.
When he arrived at the precinct, Detective Miller led him into a private interrogation viewing room behind a one-way mirror.
Inside the room sat Evelyn, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, looking haggard and defeated, sitting across from her high-priced defense attorney.
"Who helped Marcus bypass my firm's multi-factor authentication, Miller?" Daniel asked, staring through the glass at his stepmother.
Miller pulled up a file on his tablet. "His name is Arthur Pendelton. Your chief financial analyst."
Daniel felt like the ground had dropped out beneath him again. Arthur had been Clara's father's closest friend! Arthur was the man who sat at Daniel’s Thanksgiving table three years ago!
"Arthur was feeding Marcus your personal access codes," Miller explained. "They were planning to drain the children's trust entirely tonight at midnight through an offshore bank in the Cayman Islands. They knew that once Clara was gone and you were overwhelmed with grief, you wouldn't audit the quarterly statements."
"Where is Arthur now?" Daniel demanded.
"Federal marshals picked him up at Logan Airport an hour ago trying to board a flight to Zurich," Miller smiled grimly. "We seized his laptop. It contains the complete digital paper trail—every email between him, Evelyn, and Marcus spanning back three years."
Daniel leaned against the glass, watching Evelyn argue frantically with her lawyer.
"She thinks she's getting bail," Daniel remarked.
"Not a chance," Miller replied. "With Arthur’s confession and the thallium traces found in her vanity, the judge just revoked bail entirely. She’s staying in maximum security until trial."
Daniel took a deep, clear breath. For the first time in eighteen months, the suffocating fog of doubt and lingering grief began to lift from his chest.
He walked out of the police precinct into the rain, feeling the cold drops hit his face, feeling alive again.
He drove straight to a local jewelry repair shop in downtown Boston. He pulled out Clara's damaged blue safe, retrieving her original diamond engagement ring and her gold pendant necklace that had been scuffed during the break-in.
"Can you restore these?" Daniel asked the elderly jeweler behind the counter.
May you like
The jeweler looked closely at the gold through his magnifying eyepiece. "Beautiful craftsmanship. It just needs polishing and a stronger clasp. I can have it ready by tomorrow morning."
"Make it perfect," Daniel said. "It's for my daughter."
