Chapter 11 - THE ACCOUNT THAT NEVER CLOSED
Grant Ellison did not look dangerous.
That was the first thing Mara noticed.
He was sixty-two, silver-haired, softly spoken, and wore a faded University of Arizona polo shirt when he met her at a coffee shop near Kierland Commons.
She had insisted on meeting in public.
Adrian had insisted his driver remain nearby.
Grant stirred sugar into his coffee.
“You resemble Elena less than Adrian probably thinks.”
Mara watched him.
“Then why contact me?”
“Because you’re living in the same house.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
Grant smiled faintly.
“You’re careful.”
“I have children.”
His smile disappeared.
“So did Elena.”
Mara leaned forward.
“What happened to her?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then what do you know?”
Grant opened his phone and showed her an old spreadsheet.
Company payments.
Vendor numbers.
Dates.
Amounts.
Mara had spent twelve years doing bookkeeping before her marriage collapsed. She recognized the pattern almost immediately.
“These aren’t random withdrawals.”
“No.”
“They’re recurring.”
“Every month.”
“To shell companies?”
Grant nodded.
“Elena discovered them.”
Mara looked at the dates.
The payments began nearly nine years ago.
“Adrian said Elena stole money.”
“That was the conclusion his mother presented to the board.”
“Was it true?”
Grant looked at her.
“The transfers continued for nineteen months after Elena disappeared.”
Mara felt something cold move through her.
“Then she couldn’t have been the one making them.”
“Correct.”
“Did Adrian know?”
“I don’t know when he learned.”
Grant scrolled.
“One account remained open until six months ago.”
Mara froze.
Six months.
Long after Adrian’s mother died.
Long after Elena disappeared.
“Who controlled it?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to determine.”
Grant put the phone down.
“Then you arrived.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Two days later, someone closed the account.”
Mara sat back.
Outside, shoppers crossed the parking lot carrying bags.
Ordinary life continued ten feet away.
“Why tell me?”
“Because Adrian won’t listen to me.”
“Why?”
Grant gave a tired smile.
“Because I betrayed his mother once.”
“How?”
“I voted against her during a board fight.”
“That’s it?”
“No.”
He hesitated.
“I was also sleeping with her.”
Mara stared at him.
Grant looked down.
“Adrian knows.”
The old photograph came back to her.
Elena beside Adrian’s mother.
The folded face.
The unexplained payments.
“Did Elena know?”
“Yes.”
“And Marcus?”
“No.”
Mara understood then.
Elena had not merely discovered financial fraud.
She had discovered something capable of destroying a family.
Her phone rang.
Caleb’s school.
She answered.
The administrator’s voice was tense.
“Ms. Bennett, someone came asking to sign Caleb out.”
Mara stood so quickly her chair scraped backward.
“Who?”
“A woman.”
Mara’s mouth went dry.
“What woman?”
“She said she was his grandmother.”
May you like
Mara stopped breathing.
Both her parents were dead.
