Chapter 18 - The Account in Noah’s Name
Mother didn’t apologize.
Not for Amelia.
Not for Noah.
Not for Dad.
She looked at us as if we were inconveniencing her.
“You think I did all this for myself?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“That’s because Thomas made you sentimental.”
Amelia leaned toward the glass. “You locked me under a floor.”
Mother’s eyes shifted to her. “Gavin panicked.”
“You ordered him to move me.”
“I ordered him to contain a problem.”
My hands clenched.
Brooks warned me quietly, “Daniel.”
Mother continued. “Michael lost money. A great deal of it. If the board learned the truth, Reed Development would have faced investigations, lenders would have pulled credit, thousands of employees could have lost jobs.”
“So you stole more to hide it.”
“I moved money.”
“You forged Dad’s signature.”
“I protected what he built.”
“By drugging him?”
For the first time, she flinched.
Barely.
“I kept him calm.”
The room went silent.
That was the closest thing to an admission we had heard.
Amelia’s voice was ice. “What account?”
Mother looked at her.
“Thomas created a contingency fund years ago. He put it in Noah’s name after Noah was born.”
I felt my stomach drop.
“How much?”
“Twenty-three million.”
I stared at her.
She smiled faintly.
“There. Now you’re listening.”
“What does Amelia have to do with it?”
“Dual authorization. Thomas designed it so one trustee could never empty it alone.”
“Who are the trustees?”
“Amelia.”
“And?”
Mother’s smile vanished.
“Me.”
I understood.
She hadn’t just wanted the fake amendment for the company.
She needed Amelia’s signature to reach Noah’s protected money.
Mother leaned closer to the glass.
“The account isn’t untouched anymore.”
Amelia went still.
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Who did?”
May you like
Mother looked at me.
“Someone forged Amelia’s authorization three months ago.”
