Chapter 6 - B-17
Police did not storm the warehouse.
That disappointed Noah.
“I thought they would have shields.”
Claire looked at him.
“This isn’t television.”
“Television is more efficient.”
Rebecca almost laughed.
Because the Bennett Trust owned the warehouse, Walter could authorize entry. But after Silver Ridge’s suspected fraud, Rebecca insisted that a neutral forensic team document everything.
Unit B-17 sat behind a steel cage in the basement.
The black keycard opened it.
Inside were fourteen banker boxes.
Payroll.
Trust records.
Property files.
Vendor agreements.
And a locked fireproof cabinet.
Walter stared.
“These were supposed to have been digitized years ago.”
The forensic accountant, Maya Chen, photographed every shelf before anyone touched a box.
The first payroll file revealed hundreds of payments to seasonal employees.
Nothing unusual.
Then Maya compared Social Security numbers.
“Some of these people don’t exist.”
Claire frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Duplicate numbers. Invalid numbers. Same bank accounts under different names.”
Ghost employees.
More than $2.6 million had been paid over three years to fake seasonal staff.
The receiving accounts led to contractors.
Those contractors led to Silver Ridge.
Noah had stumbled onto evidence of an embezzlement system.
Claire sat heavily in a chair.
“How did nobody catch this?”
Maya looked at her.
“Someone probably did.”
She opened another box.
Internal audit reports.
Several were marked DRAFT — HOLD.
The auditor’s name was Paul Danner.
Claire knew him.
“Paul retired last year.”
Maya examined the report.
“No. According to this, he raised concerns eighteen months ago.”
Claire called him.
The number was disconnected.
Rebecca found his new address in Oregon.
“We’ll reach him through counsel.”
The fireproof cabinet contained no money.
It contained originals.
Property appraisals.
Unsigned option contracts.
Side letters between Silver Ridge and Vanessa.
One document identified Richard as an undisclosed profit participant.
Fifteen percent.
Claire stared.
“He owns part of Silver Ridge.”
“Indirectly,” Maya said.
“His divorce disclosure says he has no outside business interests.”
Rebecca’s expression sharpened.
“Then we have another issue.”
The prenuptial agreement Claire and Richard signed before marriage required full financial disclosure from both parties.
If Richard had intentionally concealed Silver Ridge ownership before signing, it could affect enforceability of provisions he intended to rely on.
Not automatically.
But significantly.
“Was Silver Ridge formed before the wedding?” Rebecca asked.
Maya checked.
“Eight months before.”
Claire felt the room tilt.
Richard had been building the vehicle before he married her.
Noah was sitting outside with Ethan and Malcolm, safely away from the document review.
Claire walked into the hallway.
Noah looked up.
“Did we find bad stuff?”
“Yes.”
“Because of the card?”
“Yes.”
He looked pleased for half a second.
Then worried.
“Was Richard trying to hide the card in my bag?”
“We don’t know.”
“What if he was trying to make me get caught with that too?”
Claire had considered it.
If security searched Noah’s bag after the watch accusation and found an unauthorized warehouse card, Richard could claim Noah had been trespassing.
Two planted objects.
One story.
Noah the thief.
Noah the snoop.
Noah the unreliable child.
Claire crouched.
“I need you to tell me exactly what Richard said before he opened your backpack.”
Noah thought.
“He asked where my notebook was.”
“Anything else?”
“He said, ‘You need to learn there are consequences for spying on adults.’”
Ethan heard.
His face changed.
“I heard that.”
Claire looked at him.
“You did?”
“Not the whole sentence. But I heard ‘consequences.’”
The evidence tightened.
Then Malcolm emerged from B-17 holding an access log.
“Claire.”
She stood.
“What?”
“Someone entered this cage after the resort incident.”
“When?”
“Yesterday at 1:12 A.M.”
“Who?”
Malcolm pointed to the credential.
Vanessa Shaw.
Claire stared.
“She knew we had the card?”
“Apparently.”
“Did she remove anything?”
“We need footage.”
The warehouse’s basement camera had been disabled.
This time successfully.
But the loading dock camera worked.
It showed Vanessa leaving with one banker box.
The label was visible.
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION — PRIVATE.
Maya swore under her breath.
“That could contain beneficial-interest schedules.”
Rebecca grabbed her phone.
“We need another preservation order.”
Claire looked at the empty shelf.
Richard and Vanessa were not merely hiding old fraud.
They were actively moving evidence after the watch incident.
Her phone rang.
Richard.
She answered.
“Where are you?”
He sounded calm.
“Why?”
“You entered the warehouse.”
“It belongs to my trust.”
“You have no idea what those files mean.”
“I’m beginning to.”
“Claire, there are transactions there your father authorized.”
“My father died before Silver Ridge existed.”
Silence.
A mistake.
Richard corrected too late.
“I’m speaking generally.”
Claire looked at Rebecca.
She mouthed, Keep him talking.
“You formed Silver Ridge before our wedding.”
Richard said nothing.
“And you didn’t disclose it.”
“You’re confused.”
“You own fifteen percent.”
Another pause.
Then Richard’s voice changed.
“Listen carefully. If you keep tearing through those records, you’re going to find signatures you won’t like.”
“Whose?”
“Yours.”
Claire’s stomach tightened.
“You forged them.”
“Not all of them.”
The line went dead.
Claire stood very still.
Not all of them.
That meant Richard knew exactly which signatures were false.
May you like
And exactly which ones Claire herself had carelessly provided.
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