Chapter 2: The Money Behind the Marriage
By eight the following morning, Dad had already canceled his first two meetings.
He sat at the breakfast table wearing the same shirt he'd worn the previous evening. His coffee was untouched.
I placed a folder beside him.
“Daniel copied the footage onto an encrypted drive.””
Dad opened it.
“Did he tell you anything else?””
“He said Vanessa has been visiting the security office whenever he's away.””
Dad looked up.
“Why would she do that?””
“To see what the cameras captured.””
He slowly closed the folder.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Dad asked, “Ethan, have you ever considered that I might have made a terrible mistake?””
I sat across from him.
“About marrying her?””
He nodded.
“I thought she understood me. After your mother died, the house became unbearable. Vanessa made me feel like I could start again.””
“Dad, you don't have to explain.””
“No. I do.””
He rubbed his wedding ring with his thumb.
“Your mother used to tell me that loneliness makes people vulnerable. I thought she was talking about business.””
I looked down at the table.
“I think she was talking about more than business.””
Before Dad could respond, Vanessa entered.
She wore a cream-colored blouse, designer trousers, and a diamond necklace my father had bought her for their first anniversary.
“Good morning, gentlemen.””
She kissed Dad's cheek.
Then she noticed the folder.
“What's that?””
“Company paperwork,” Dad replied.
Vanessa reached for the coffee pot.
“Ethan, I thought you were supposed to be moving out this week.””
I looked at her.
“I haven't agreed to move.””
She poured coffee into her cup.
“Your father and I discussed it.””
Dad lifted his eyes.
“No, Vanessa. We didn't.””
Her hand stopped.
“Marcus, we talked about having more privacy.””
“Privacy isn't the same as forcing my son out.””
Vanessa placed the pot down harder than necessary.
“I'm trying to build a marriage with you. Every time I turn around, Ethan is here.””
Dad stood.
“This is his home too.””
Her expression hardened.
“Not according to the documents.””
Silence fell over the table.
I watched Dad carefully.
“What documents?”” he asked.
Vanessa recovered quickly.
“I meant the household arrangements. You know what I mean.””
“No, I don't.””
She picked up her handbag.
“I have an appointment. We'll discuss this later.””
She walked away.
But this time, Dad didn't follow her.
At ten, we met with Patricia Wells, the family's attorney.
Patricia had handled my parents' estate planning for more than twenty years. She was a sharp woman in her sixties who rarely raised her voice.
After reviewing the security footage, she removed her glasses.
“This is serious.””
Dad leaned forward.
“Can we establish what she's been doing?””
“We can investigate the financial activity and preserve evidence. But Marcus, I need you to understand something. If Vanessa has accessed accounts without authorization, we may be dealing with more than a domestic dispute.””
Patricia opened her laptop.
“Have you noticed any unusual transfers?””
Dad shook his head.
“Not personally.””
I placed Daniel's notes on the desk.
“He found repeated visits from Richard Cole.””
Patricia stopped typing.
“Richard?””
“You know him?”” Dad asked.
“He handled some of your financial restructuring years ago.””
“He retired.””
Patricia looked at the photograph.
“Apparently not.””
She requested bank statements from the accounts Dad had authorized her to review.
Within twenty minutes, her expression changed.
“Marcus, do you recognize these transfers?””
She turned the laptop around.
Several payments had been made from a family investment account over the previous four months.
$18,500.
$24,000.
$31,200.
$42,000.
Each transfer had gone to a company called Northbridge Consulting LLC.
Dad frowned.
“I've never heard of it.””
Patricia examined the transaction descriptions.
“Some were approved through an authorization associated with your secondary business account.””
“I didn't authorize these.””
“Then we need to establish who did.””
I leaned toward the screen.
“Can we trace the recipient?””
Patricia nodded.
She opened a corporate registry search.
Northbridge Consulting had been incorporated less than a year earlier.
Its registered address was a small office building downtown.
Its listed director was a woman named Laura Bennett.
I recognized the name.
“Wait. Laura Bennett?””
Dad looked at me.
“You know her?””
“She's Vanessa's closest friend. They were together at the charity fundraiser where you met.””
Patricia made a note.
“That's worth investigating.””
Dad stared at the transactions.
“How much?””
Patricia added the figures.
“Just over $115,000.””
Dad slowly leaned back.
I had never seen him look so small.
Then his phone rang.
Vanessa.
He answered on speaker.
“Hello?””
“Marcus, darling, I need you to transfer some money today.””
Dad glanced at Patricia.
“How much?””
“Forty thousand. There's a property opportunity I want to secure.””
“What property?””
“It's complicated. Richard is helping me.””
Patricia raised one finger, signaling Dad to continue.
“Why does Richard need to be involved?””
A pause.
Then Vanessa laughed lightly.
“Because he's the financial adviser, Marcus. Surely you remember that.””
“He retired.””
“He still handles private clients.””
Dad looked at me.
“Send me the details first.””
Her voice became colder.
“Why are you suddenly questioning everything I do?””
“Because it's my money.””
“It's our money.””
“Not without an explanation.””
There was a long silence.
Then Vanessa said, “I hope Ethan hasn't been filling your head with nonsense.””
Dad's jaw tightened.
“Goodbye, Vanessa.””
He ended the call.
Patricia immediately saved the recording.
“Don't transfer another dollar until we've secured the accounts.””
Dad nodded.
But I wasn't looking at the bank statements anymore.
I was looking at the company registration.
Northbridge Consulting's address was familiar.
It was the same building where Vanessa had told Dad she attended a weekly charity board meeting.
I checked the company details again.
Then I noticed something strange.
The business had been incorporated three days before Dad and Vanessa announced their engagement.
“Patricia,” I said quietly.
“Look at the incorporation date.””
She leaned toward the screen.
Her eyes narrowed.
“That's interesting.””
Dad frowned.
“What?””
“Your wife established a company before you married her. And shortly afterward, money started flowing into it.””
Dad stood abruptly.
“Are you telling me she planned this marriage for my money?””
Patricia closed the laptop halfway.
“I'm telling you we don't have enough evidence to make that conclusion yet.””
I pulled out my phone.
“There's another thing.””
I showed them a photograph Daniel had sent me that morning.
It showed Vanessa entering the garage with a small black document case.
She had opened the trunk of her car, removed an envelope, and handed it to Richard Cole.
But the photograph wasn't what caught my attention.
It was the time.
The exchange had taken place at 2:17 a.m.
Dad stared at it.
“Why would she be meeting him in the middle of the night?””
Patricia took the phone.
“Do we know what was in the envelope?””
“No,” I replied.
Then I remembered something.
My mother had once told me that she kept certain family documents in a locked cabinet inside the upstairs library.
After she died, I had found the cabinet empty.
Dad had said the documents were probably transferred to storage.
But now I wasn't so sure.
“Dad, where are Mom's original estate papers?””
He looked confused.
“In the storage room, I think.””
“Who moved them?””
“I don't remember.””
Patricia slowly turned toward him.
“Marcus, did Evelyn have a separate safety deposit box?””
Dad nodded.
“Yes. At First National Bank. She kept personal documents there.””
“Who has access?””
“Evelyn and me. At least, that's how it was originally arranged.””
I looked at him.
“Has anyone accessed it since Mom died?””
Dad opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
“I don't know.””
Patricia picked up her pen.
“We should contact the bank.””
But before she could make the call, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent me a message.
There was no greeting.
Only a photograph.
It showed Vanessa standing outside a bank vault entrance.
May you like
And beneath it were eight words.
*Your mother left something behind. Vanessa knows exactly where.*
