Chapter 3 - The Lawyer Daniel Feared
Claire did not sleep.
At seven the next morning, she called a lawyer Daniel had never used.
Rachel Kim’s name came from Linda, whose sister had hired her during a contested estate case.
Rachel listened without interruption.
When Claire finished, there was a pause.
“Do not call Samuel Pierce.”
“I wasn’t planning to anymore.”
“Good. Photograph Daniel’s note where you found it. Don’t write on it. Don’t fold it again. Keep the original secure.”
Claire looked at the yellow paper.
“Why would Daniel distrust his own attorney?”
“That’s what we need to find out.”
By ten, Rachel had filed for an emergency protective order prohibiting Margaret from contacting Ethan or entering Claire’s property.
Margaret’s lawyer opposed it immediately.
The speed of the response disturbed Rachel.
“She was prepared.”
“For a protective order?”
“For conflict.”
At eleven fifteen, Claire’s phone rang.
Grant Reed.
She almost ignored it.
Rachel stopped her.
“Answer. Put it on speaker. Virginia generally permits a participant in a conversation to record it. I want you to preserve your own conversations from now on.”
Claire started recording.
“Hello.”
Grant’s voice was controlled.
“My mother says you called police on her.”
“She threw a dog bowl at my child.”
“She hit a bench.”
“She pulled Ethan into a ditch.”
“He slipped.”
“There’s a video.”
Silence.
Then Grant asked, “Who recorded it?”
Claire looked at Rachel.
“That’s your first question?”
“I’m trying to understand what happened.”
“No. You’re trying to understand what evidence exists.”
His breathing changed.
“Claire, grief has made you paranoid.”
“Daniel wrote that I shouldn’t trust Samuel Pierce.”
That was a mistake.
Rachel’s eyes flashed.
She reached toward the phone, too late.
Grant went silent.
Claire realized immediately what she had done.
She had revealed evidence before understanding its importance.
“Where did you find that?” Grant asked.
Claire ended the call.
Rachel leaned back.
“You can’t give them your cards before you know the game.”
“I know.”
“This is what they’re counting on. You’re angry. Angry people disclose things.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Her first major mistake had taken less than twenty-four hours.
At noon, Grant arrived at Reed Development Group’s headquarters and summoned an emergency executive meeting.
Claire learned because Priya Desai called her.
Priya had been Daniel’s controller for six years.
Her voice was low.
“Grant just ordered everyone to preserve records.”
“That sounds appropriate.”
“It would be, except he also ordered me locked out of the accounting archive.”
Claire stood.
“Why?”
“He says there may be ‘litigation exposure connected to Daniel’s estate.’”
“Priya, did Daniel ever investigate company money?”
Another pause.
“I think we should meet.”
They chose a café twenty miles from Reed headquarters.
Priya arrived carrying nothing.
“No laptop,” she said. “No company phone.”
Claire’s anxiety deepened.
“What did Daniel find?”
“I don’t know everything.”
“Tell me what you do know.”
Priya folded her hands.
“About six months before Daniel died, he asked me to review related-party payments connected to three warehouse projects.”
“What kind of payments?”
“Consulting. Environmental review. Site acquisition.”
“Fraud?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You’re frightened.”
“Yes.”
That honesty mattered.
Priya continued.
“I found repeated transfers to companies I couldn’t connect to legitimate work. Daniel told me not to confront anyone.”
“How much?”
“At that point? A little over six million dollars.”
Claire stared.
“Who approved them?”
“Some had Grant’s authorization.”
“And Margaret?”
“Board approvals.”
Claire’s mouth went dry.
“Why didn’t Daniel report it?”
“He said he needed proof that couldn’t be explained as sloppy accounting.”
“What did he use?”
“A blue notebook.”
Claire stopped moving.
Priya saw it.
“You know about that?”
“Margaret attacked Ethan yesterday because she thought he knew where it was.”
Priya’s face drained.
Claire told her about the key.
“R-417,” Priya repeated.
“Does that mean anything?”
“No.”
But something clearly did.
“Priya.”
“I saw Daniel write ‘417’ beside the name River Commonwealth.”
“A bank?”
“Yes.”
Claire searched the name.
River Commonwealth Bank had a downtown Richmond branch three blocks from Daniel’s old office.
A safe-deposit box.
Rachel contacted the bank that afternoon.
Because Daniel was deceased, the bank would not disclose details over the phone. Rachel prepared documents proving Claire’s authority as personal representative of Daniel’s estate.
At four twenty, someone knocked on Claire’s front door.
She checked the camera.
Samuel Pierce.
Claire did not open it.
He called through the door.
“Claire, Grant told me you found a note.”
No answer.
“Daniel was under extreme stress before his death.”
Claire’s fingers tightened around her phone.
Pierce continued.
“He became suspicious of people trying to help him.”
Still she remained silent.
Then he said something that made her step closer.
“That blue notebook is company property. If you find it, do not open it.”
Claire opened the door halfway, chain still latched.
Pierce smiled gently.
“You see? We can handle this calmly.”
“How do you know about the blue notebook?”
His smile disappeared.
Claire watched the realization reach him.
Grant had told him too much.
Pierce stepped closer.
“You are dealing with documents that can expose you personally.”
“To what?”
“Financial transactions made in your name.”
Claire’s stomach dropped.
“I never made company transactions.”
Pierce lowered his voice.
“Then you’d better hope Daniel didn’t.”
He walked away before Claire could ask another question.
That evening, Rachel received a response from River Commonwealth Bank.
Daniel had indeed rented a safe-deposit box.
Number 417.
But Daniel had not been the only authorized renter.
The second name on the contract was Margaret Reed.
And according to the bank’s access log, Margaret had entered the box at 9:12 that morning.
May you like
Less than two hours after Grant learned Claire had found Daniel’s warning note.
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