Chapter 4 - THE LEDGER UNDER THE FLOOR
By dawn, the birthday celebration had become a rumor. Some guests left early, muttering about an emergency. Others stayed in the ballroom, determined not to waste the evening’s expensive champagne. Declan did not return to them. He sat in the financial office with Marco, his attorney, and an independent forensic accountant named Helen Ward.
Arthur’s office had been locked. The first review found irregular payments to three shell companies, each registered under a different name but using the same mailing address. One company had received “staff recovery payments.” Another was listed as a private security consultant. The third had no declared business at all.
Helen spread printed statements across the table.
“These transfers have been running for at least fourteen months,” she said. “The amounts are small enough to escape casual review, but the total is substantial.”
“How substantial?” Declan asked.
“Just over two million dollars, based on the accounts we can currently access.”
Marco swore under his breath.
Declan was thinking of the men who had stood beside him for years, the deals signed in his name, and the quiet ways an empire could be robbed from the inside.
“Can you trace the shell companies?”
“With subpoenas and cooperation from the banks, yes. Some accounts are overseas. It will take time.”
“Then start now.”
Helen hesitated. “There’s another issue. Several transfers are labeled as debt recovery. One list includes employee names.”
“Read them.”
She did. Clary’s name appeared six times. Two other staff members had similar deductions. A groundskeeper’s son had been charged for a damaged vehicle that had never been damaged. A cook had paid “advance recovery” fees after requesting time off for a family emergency.
Declan felt the room grow colder.
“How many people?”
“At least eleven.”
“Contact each one privately. Tell them an independent review is underway. No one is to be fired, threatened, or asked to repay anything until we establish what happened.”
His attorney nodded. “That could create liability.”
“Good. Then we’ll deal with the liability honestly.”
Marco placed a small notebook on the table. “We found this inside a false bottom in Arthur’s desk.”
The notebook contained initials, dates, and amounts. Some entries were followed by a single letter: C, T, or S. Beside Clary’s initials, someone had written, “Continue until family complies.”
Declan stared at the words.
“Who wrote this?”
“We’re checking the handwriting against the accounting records,” Marco said.
A knock sounded. One of the house managers entered, pale and anxious.
“Sir, the staff are asking whether they should keep working. Rumors are spreading.”
“Tell them their jobs are safe while the review is conducted. Pay everyone their regular wages on time. If anyone has been charged improperly, we’ll make it right.”
The manager nodded and hurried away.
Declan rubbed a hand over his face. He had built his reputation on control, yet he had not known what was happening in his own house. He had mistaken the absence of complaints for the absence of harm.
Clary arrived shortly after nine. She had gone home briefly to change, then returned because she wanted to answer the accountant’s questions. Tommy was stable at the hospital, and a social worker had arranged for him to stay under medical supervision while he recovered.
Helen asked Clary to review the deductions. Clary identified several charges she had never agreed to and confirmed that she had been forced to sign blank forms after being told they were routine payroll acknowledgments.
“I should have questioned them,” she said.
“You were told to sign by someone with authority over your employment,” Helen replied. “That matters. We’re not here to blame you.”
Clary seemed unsure how to accept that.
Then she pointed at a line near the bottom of the page. “This one. The payment marked ‘East Wing maintenance.’ That was the night the collector came into the house.”
Marco checked the date. “Arthur was here that evening.”
“He asked me to clean the east corridor twice,” Clary said. “The second time, he told me to use the service stairs and not speak to anyone.”
Declan’s eyes narrowed. “He was arranging access.”
A new message arrived on Marco’s phone. Victor Saye had been located and was cooperating with investigators after learning that the accounts he used were being examined. He claimed Arthur had told him that Declan approved every collection.
“Did he provide proof?” Declan asked.
“Not yet. But he says Arthur has a second ledger stored outside the mansion.”
“Where?”
“He doesn’t know the exact address. He says it’s kept at a private office above a closed restaurant.”
Helen closed the notebook. “If that ledger exists, it may show where the money went.”
Declan looked at Clary. “You’ve done enough for today. Go back to your brother.”
“I want to stay.”
“Why?”
“Because every time I leave, someone else decides what happens next.”
The answer was quiet, but it landed heavily.
Declan considered arguing. Instead, he pulled out a chair for her.
“You can stay for the interview. Then you’re going to eat something and rest.”
Clary lifted an eyebrow. “You give orders even when you’re trying to be kind.”
“I’m told it’s a flaw.”
“It is.”
May you like
For the first time, she almost smiled.
It was a small thing, but in the gray morning light, it felt more significant than the five hundred guests he had abandoned.
