Chapter 8 - The Man Daniel Trusted
Simon answered Daniel’s call on the second ring.
“Daniel, I just heard about your mother. I’m so sorry.”
His voice was warm. Familiar. Concerned.
Daniel almost hated him more for sounding normal.
“Thanks,” Daniel said. “I need you at the office first thing.”
“Of course.”
“Don’t tell anyone. I found an accounting issue.”
A pause.
“How big?”
“Big enough that I don’t want panic.”
Simon exhaled. “I’ll be there at seven.”
Daniel ended the call and looked at Reed.
“He took the bait.”
The detective shook his head. “You are not confronting him alone.”
“I want to look him in the eye.”
“You can look from across a table with two detectives nearby.”
At 6:55 the next morning, Simon walked into Mercer Development wearing a navy suit and carrying coffee.
He smiled at the receptionist.
He greeted security by name.
He looked exactly like the man Daniel had trusted with hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the conference room, Daniel slid a photocopy of the Northline Holdings transfer across the table.
Simon glanced at it once.
Too quickly.
“What is this?” he asked.
“You tell me.”
“Looks like a trust draw.”
“It has my forged signature.”
Simon looked up. “Then we have a serious problem.”
“We do.”
Daniel placed a second page down.
Simon’s approval code was printed at the bottom.
His face did not change.
“That code can be duplicated.”
“Can your voice?”
For the first time, Simon blinked.
Daniel leaned forward.
“My son recorded you in my house.”
Simon’s fingers tightened around the coffee cup.
Then he smiled.
It was small and sad.
“You always were too trusting.”
Detective Reed stepped through the side door.
Simon stood so fast his chair slammed backward.
He did not run for the hall.
He ran for the window.
Security tackled him before he reached it.
As officers cuffed him, Simon looked at Daniel and laughed.
“You think this ends with me?”
Daniel stared at him.
Simon’s smile widened.
“Ask your wife whose idea the guardianship papers were.”
Daniel’s blood went cold.
“What guardianship papers?”
May you like
Simon lowered his voice.
“The ones that would’ve declared your mother incompetent by Monday.”
