Chapter 15 - Daniel's Account
Sarah stared at her brother's name.
"No."
Vanessa shrugged. "That's what I said when I saw it."
Daniel was waiting at Helen's office when Sarah returned.
She put the transfer record in front of him.
He read it once.
Then again.
"I didn't authorize this."
"Can you prove that?" Helen asked.
"My corporate account requires two-factor approval."
"Where does the code go?"
"My phone."
Sarah remembered something.
At the birthday party, Daniel had left his phone on the gift table for nearly twenty minutes while helping Lily open presents.
"Who had access?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Half the room."
Helen requested login records.
The authorization had been made from inside Sarah's house during the party.
At 4:42 p.m.
Seven minutes before Vanessa smashed the cake.
Someone had used chaos as cover.
Daniel began pacing.
"So the party wasn't just about provoking Sarah. It was also about moving money."
Sarah thought of every guest.
Employees. Relatives. Vendors. Board members.
Then she remembered one person who had been everywhere and noticed by no one.
The event planner.
Claire Moss.
Claire had worked every Bennett family event for three years. She knew the house, the cameras, the guest lists, and the security system.
Daniel called her.
Disconnected.
Her company website was gone.
Helen searched the incorporation database.
Claire Moss Events had been dissolved that morning.
Sarah said, "Find a photo from the party."
They did.
In one image, Claire stood behind Mark near the cake table.
In another, she was beside Daniel's phone.
And in a third, she was speaking quietly with Margaret.
Margaret looked at the photograph and whispered, "That's not Claire Moss."
Everyone turned.
"What do you mean?"
Margaret's hand began to shake.
May you like
"I knew her mother. Her real name is Claire Cole."
Vanessa had a sister.
