Chapter 14 - My father’s missing money
My father had died four years earlier.
Cancer.
Slow enough for goodbyes.
Fast enough to leave unfinished business.
He had created Maya’s trust.
I knew that.
What I did not know was that he had also invested in Julian’s company.
Quietly.
He wanted to help us without making Julian feel indebted to him.
The investment had been substantial.
Thomas discovered that after my father died, Julian redirected portions of those holdings through corporate restructurings.
I had signed nothing.
Again, documents suggested otherwise.
Thomas had challenged him.
That was when their relationship fractured.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was ashamed.”
“For what?”
“For helping him hide the first transfer.”
Thomas looked down.
“I told myself I was protecting the company.”
He swallowed.
“Then I realized I was protecting a thief.”
The discovery expanded the financial investigation.
But it also answered something I had never understood.
Why Julian became so desperate to control the divorce.
If I had walked away quietly, he could continue hiding what he had done.
If he destroyed my credibility and gained custody of Maya, he could potentially strengthen his control over family financial structures connected to her.
He hadn’t filed for divorce because he wanted freedom.
He filed because I had started asking questions.
Then Thomas handed me an envelope.
“Your father gave this to me.”
“When?”
“Six months before he died.”
“Why didn’t you give it to me?”
“He told me to wait until you started looking at Julian’s books.”
I stared at him.
“My father knew?”
“Not everything.”
Thomas paused.
“But he suspected enough.”
Inside was a handwritten letter.
Elena,
If you are reading this, you finally remembered who you are.
I covered my mouth.
There were more pages.
And attached behind them was a photocopy of an account authorization.
At the bottom appeared Julian’s signature.
May you like
Beside it was another signature.
Evelyn Vance.
