Chapter 8 - The Money That Vanished
Naomi hired a forensic accountant.
Two days later, they found the first trail.
Over four years, money had quietly left the Vale Foundation through consulting contracts, property-management invoices, and companies that appeared legitimate.
Most were not.
One corporation led to another.
Then another.
Finally, everything connected to a private holding company.
VL Holdings.
Vanessa Louise Vale.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“She stole from the foundation.”
“Allegedly,” Naomi said carefully. “We still need original records.”
“How much?”
“At least nine million we can trace.”
“And Helen said eleven point eight.”
“Which means Arthur’s ledger may contain transactions we haven’t found.”
Ethan remembered Claire’s note.
Arthur finally believed me.
Claire had discovered it first.
That explained the hatred.
That explained why Vanessa had despised Ethan’s wife.
And maybe it explained Claire’s warning before her death.
Don’t let Vanessa get close to Ethan Jr.
Before Ethan could process it, Naomi’s phone buzzed.
Her face changed.
“The board just suspended you.”
Vanessa had called an emergency meeting.
The edited gala video had done its job.
Until the court ruled on Ethan’s fitness as trustee, he was temporarily blocked from making decisions involving several Vale holdings.
That afternoon, Vanessa walked into Vale Foundation headquarters surrounded by attorneys.
Cameras waited outside.
She gave a statement portraying herself as a frightened aunt who had “spent years trying to protect the family from Ethan’s explosive behavior.”
Ethan watched from Naomi’s office.
His reputation was collapsing.
His access was disappearing.
And Vanessa had the blue ledger.
Then Naomi’s investigator rushed inside.
“Someone from the gala contacted us.”
He placed a phone on the table.
“A guest recorded the confrontation.”
Ethan looked at the screen.
The clip started eleven seconds earlier than Vanessa’s version.
There was Ethan Jr.
On the floor.
Crying.
Being dragged.
And Vanessa was holding the chain.
But the video contained something even more important.
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Just before Ethan reached them, Vanessa looked directly toward one of her bodyguards and said:
“Keep filming.”
