Chapter 7 - Gloria’s little company
Daniel looked directly at Gloria.
“G.M. Hospitality Consulting.”
Her face collapsed.
Evan closed his eyes.
Emily whispered, “What?”
Daniel continued.
“Registered eleven months ago.”
The exact month Gloria’s six-week visit somehow became permanent.
Rachel retrieved the corporate registration.
Gloria attempted to laugh.
“I’ve done consulting.”
“For Hartwell?” I asked.
“Indirectly.”
“You have never worked in hospitality.”
“I’ve been around restaurants.”
“You complain when a menu has more than two pages.”
Evan stepped in.
“My mother provided legitimate services.”
“What services?”
He hesitated.
“Vendor relations.”
Daniel asked, “Can you identify one vendor?”
Silence.
Rachel kept searching.
The first payments were small.
Five thousand.
Eight thousand.
Twelve.
Then larger invoices appeared.
Twenty-five thousand for operational consulting.
Forty thousand for vendor optimization.
Seventy-two thousand for regional implementation.
Emily stared at her husband.
“You told me Mom reduced my allowance because Hartwell was struggling.”
I turned sharply.
“I never reduced anything.”
Emily’s eyes filled.
“What?”
I immediately understood.
Evan had isolated her financially.
Not dramatically enough to trigger alarms.
Slowly.
Quietly.
He told her money was tight.
Took control of passwords.
Dismissed household help.
Restricted spending.
Made her dependent.
Meanwhile, millions moved elsewhere.
“Where is Emily’s personal account?” I asked.
Evan frowned.
“What?”
“The beneficiary distribution account.”
“I manage household finances.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Daniel checked.
Then his expression darkened.
“Margaret.”
“What?”
“The distributions have been arriving.”
Emily stared at him.
“I haven’t seen them.”
“Approximately fifteen thousand monthly.”
Her mouth fell open.
“I get eight hundred.”
Nobody spoke.
“Eight hundred?” I repeated.
Emily nodded.
“For groceries and Lily.”
Gloria sighed.
“She was wasting money.”
I turned toward her.
“You stole my daughter’s money and then made her wash your dinner plates?”
“I didn’t steal anything.”
Daniel looked at the evidence.
“We’ll let investigators decide terminology.”
Suddenly, Evan’s phone rang.
He stared at the caller.
Didn’t answer.
It rang again.
Then Thomas Reed’s phone began ringing too.
Same moment.
Thomas went pale.
Daniel noticed.
“Who is calling?”
Neither man answered.
Then Rachel’s tablet chimed.
She stared at the screen.
“What?” I asked.
“Someone just attempted remote deletion of Hartwell’s procurement archive.”
Daniel looked toward Thomas.
“But Bluebird preserved it first.”
Thomas’s shoulders dropped.
Evan whispered something I couldn’t hear.
Then Thomas turned toward him.
“No.”
His voice shook.
“You said this would never reach Margaret.”
Evan stared at him.
Thomas pointed toward Gloria.
“And you said Emily would be declared incompetent before anyone audited us.”
May you like
Emily stopped breathing.
So did I.
