Chapter 6 - Numbers That Didn't Add Up
The message had no name attached. Daniel read it three times, then forwarded it to his attorney, Asha Bell, with a request for an urgent meeting. He did not tell Sloane. He did not tell the board. He did not tell anyone who might warn her.
Asha Bell, his longtime attorney, met him at Mercer House Group the next morning. She had handled major acquisitions and a bitter city-contract dispute; she never minimized trouble.
“Brightwater Youth Services is registered to Calvin Pike, Sloane’s half brother,” Asha said. “It claims to provide child-support and placement services. Harbor Light has paid it for nearly a year.”
“How much?”
“Just over two million dollars, spread across dozens of invoices. Some are for consulting. Some are for transport. Some are labeled emergency placements.”
“Were the services provided?”
“That’s what we need to find out.”
Harbor Light was Julia’s passion: it helped injured children recover and housed families near hospitals. Daniel had thanked Sloane for managing its books after Julia died.
Asha pulled up another file. “The payments were approved under Sloane’s authority. But these transfers required your final sign-off, and several have your electronic signature.”
“I didn’t approve them.”
“I assumed you’d say that. The signatures were entered from the foundation’s office terminal, not your account.”
“So someone used my name.”
“Possibly. We’ll need a forensic review before we accuse anyone.”
Daniel stared at the figures. He remembered Sloane saying she had streamlined the foundation’s bookkeeping after Julia’s death. He had thanked her for taking the burden off him.
“What about the residential program?” he asked.
Asha searched. “Pine Hollow Family Center has a referral partnership with Brightwater. It’s a real facility, but it’s privately operated, and its website is full of vague promises. I would not send a child there without independent evaluation.”
“Can we stop the placement?”
“Nothing has been formally filed with a court, but we can put the program on notice that you have not consented. I’ll send that today.”
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face. “I let her run everything because I thought I was failing Oliver.”
“You may have been absent,” Asha said gently. “That is something you can change. It doesn’t make you responsible for someone else’s choices.”
Before he could answer, his assistant called through the conference room speaker.
“Daniel, Sloane is here. She says the board meeting has been moved to noon. She wants you there.”
Asha closed her laptop. “She may know you’re looking.”
Daniel stood.
May you like
On the screen, Brightwater’s registered address appeared beneath Calvin Pike’s name. It was not an office.
It was a vacant warehouse beside the river.
