Chapter 6 - THE MONEY TRAIL
Adrian stared at the bank transfer as if seeing it for the first time.
Elena watched his reaction carefully.
“That money went to your company.”
“I did not authorize this.”
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“Of course you did.”
“You have been moving Elena’s money for years.”
Adrian stepped toward his sister.
“Be quiet.”
Mason moved between them.
“Mrs. Hartley, how did you access this laptop?”
Victoria pointed toward the desk.
“It was open.”
Elena knew that was impossible.
Her grandmother’s laptop had been stored inside a locked drawer since the funeral.
The drawer now hung open.
Its lock had been broken.
Mason examined the transfer.
“The transaction originated from this house.”
Elena looked at the date.
She had been in Boston attending a medical charity conference that week.
Adrian had remained home.
“Where were you on October seventeenth?”
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
“At the office.”
“Can anyone confirm that?”
“Hundreds of employees.”
Mason closed the laptop.
“We will verify it.”
Victoria leaned against the desk.
“You should arrest her before she destroys more evidence.”
Mason looked at her.
“I have not forgotten the recording of you planting the necklace.”
Victoria’s confidence weakened.
“That was a test.”
Elena could not believe what she had heard.
“A test?”
“I wanted to see how you would react.”
“You announced to fifty people that I was a thief.”
“Because I knew you were hiding something.”
Elena walked closer.
“You did not know the camera was recording.”
Victoria’s lips tightened.
“I knew exactly where the cameras were.”
“Then why did you panic when the footage played?”
Victoria glanced at Adrian.
It lasted less than a second.
Mason noticed it too.
Elena suddenly understood.
Victoria had known about the bedroom camera.
She had believed someone would erase the recording before the party.
Someone with administrator access.
Elena turned toward Adrian.
“You were supposed to delete it.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“Victoria planted the necklace because she believed the footage would disappear.”
“That means someone promised to erase it.”
Victoria remained silent.
Adrian walked out of the room.
Elena followed him into the hallway.
“Did you promise her?”
He stopped.
“No.”
“Then why are you running away?”
“Because nothing I say will make you trust me.”
“Trust requires truth.”
Adrian faced her.
“You want the truth?”
“Your grandmother believed someone inside this family was going to kill her.”
Elena’s anger vanished.
“What?”
“She changed her will because she was afraid.”
“She made me sign as a witness.”
“Who was she afraid of?”
Adrian looked past Elena.
Victoria stood in the study doorway.
May you like
Adrian lowered his voice.
“She was afraid of you.”
