Chapter 33
[Chapter 33: The Ledger of Lies]
Ethan didn’t sit. He slammed his fist onto the mahogany desk. “I don’t want your money, Patricia. I want my sister, and I want you out of my life permanently. The FBI is already tracking the corporate shares you stole.”
Patricia let out a melodic, mocking laugh. “The FBI? Oh, Ethan. You still think this is an American game. The legacy accounts your grandfather set up in 1974 were never subject to US jurisdiction. The money is legally mine now. Richard was just a custodian. I am the rightful heir.”
She slid a thick, leather-bound ledger across the desk. Ethan flicked it open. Inside were columns of numbers, wire transfer receipts, and signatures dating back decades.
But as Ethan’s eyes scanned the pages, his heart skipped a beat.
The signatures transferring the funds out of Richard’s farm accounts into Switzerland weren't signed by Patricia. And they weren't signed by Melissa.
They were signed by Richard Miller. His father.
“Your father didn’t get robbed, Ethan,” Patricia whispered, leaning forward, her eyes gleaming with malice. “Richard gave me the money. He paid me to take the blame for the fire. He paid me to disappear. He needed a villain so he could claim the massive insurance payout on the construction firm’s burned assets. You were the only one left in the dark.”
Ethan staggered back, the room spinning. His father—the man who had brought a hunting rifle to the weigh station, the man who had cried on his porch—was the architect of the entire financial fraud.
May you like
“No,” Ethan stammered. “That’s a lie. You manipulated him.”
“Go ask him yourself,” Patricia smiled. “But you might want to call home first. Richard isn't at the farm, Ethan. He’s at your safehouse. With Lauren.”
