Chapter 7 - THE SISTER WHO KNEW THE ACCOUNTS
Rebecca Carter had spent twenty years being the responsible child.
Daniel had been the favored one.
Not openly.
Never enough for outsiders to notice.
Charles simply trusted Daniel’s instincts more.
Invited him into meetings earlier.
Gave him the CEO succession path.
Then Ethan was born sick.
Charles poured money into the medical trust.
Rebecca’s daughter Sophie was healthy.
Charles gave her a college account.
Rebecca said it did not bother her.
Then found herself angry anyway.
Not at Ethan.
At Charles.
“Dad made money feel like love,” she told Daniel.
He looked at her.
“And you?”
“I resented him.”
“Did you take from the trust?”
“No.”
“Did you revive LMC Wellness?”
“No.”
“Did you give Lauren access?”
Rebecca looked away.
Daniel went cold.
“What?”
“She asked about reimbursement processing.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“Why?”
“She said Ethan’s therapy invoices were being denied.”
That was plausible.
Rebecca gave Lauren a temporary finance portal login.
One week.
Then expired it.
Or thought she did.
Security logs showed the login remained active eight months.
Someone used it.
From multiple IP addresses.
Some matched Lauren’s home laptop.
Some did not.
Lauren admitted using the portal.
“For Ethan.”
Then Richard found transfers from LMC Wellness to a private account held by Lauren.
$96,000.
Not $372,000.
Lauren said:
“Those were reimbursements.”
For what?
Medical travel.
Private nurse.
School tutor.
Hotel stays during treatment.
Receipts existed.
Some inflated.
Some normal.
Then another $148,000 went to a brokerage account.
Beneficiary:
Jason Blake.
Jason stared at the statement.
“Not mine.”
The account used his Social Security number.
Opened online.
Again.
Identity theft.
Then investigators traced access device.
Lauren’s tablet.
She went pale.
“I didn’t.”
Daniel stared at her.
She looked almost desperate.
“Daniel, I didn’t.”
He wanted to believe her less than he wanted truth.
That scared him.
Then Lauren’s attorney produced something decisive.
On the dates the brokerage account was accessed, Lauren was in Europe with Daniel and Ethan.
Her tablet had been left at the Carter house.
Who had access?
Household staff.
Rebecca.
Daniel’s mother, Elaine.
Elaine Carter.
Seventy.
Widowed.
Still lived in the guest wing.
Daniel’s stomach dropped.
His mother had never entered the conflict.
Too quiet.
He called her.
She answered calmly.
“Daniel.”
“Did you use Lauren’s tablet?”
Silence.
“Mom.”
“I used it to check trust balances.”
His face went cold.
“Why?”
“Because Charles asked me to watch the account before he died.”
“What?”
Elaine had been monitoring Ethan’s trust for years.
Charles feared Lauren would misuse it.
But he also feared Rebecca’s resentment.
He gave Elaine passwords.
No formal authority.
Just access.
Another secret protector.
Another person operating outside structure.
Daniel asked:
“Did you move money?”
“No.”
“Did you open accounts in Jason’s name?”
Elaine sounded offended.
“No.”
Then:
“But I know who did.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
“Who?”
May you like
His mother answered:
“Your father.”
