Chapter 4 – The Missing Account
Chapter 4 – The Missing Account
Adrian Westwood had spent three years believing one sentence.
Claire died in an accident.
It was the sentence repeated by police.
By his family.
By everyone who wanted him to move forward.
But now that sentence was falling apart.
Because accidents did not leave hidden messages.
Accidents did not require secret closets.
Accidents did not involve missing accounts worth millions of dollars.
And accidents did not end with a dead woman warning her husband not to trust the person standing closest to him.
The photograph sat between Adrian and Detective Rachel Morgan.
The photograph that changed everything.
A damaged Mercedes.
A rainy road.
Emergency lights.
And in the corner…
A second vehicle.
Barely visible.
A dark SUV parked away from the scene.
“Why wasn’t this in the report?”
Adrian’s voice was low.
Rachel looked exhausted.
“Because the picture was removed.”
Adrian looked up.
“What?”
“The original evidence file had twelve photographs.”
She placed another folder on the table.
“The official report contained nine.”
Three missing photographs.
Three pieces of evidence.
“Who removed them?”
Rachel hesitated.
That hesitation told Adrian everything.
“You know.”
“I suspected.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Rachel looked directly at him.
“The person who handled the evidence transfer was Officer Thomas Reed.”
Adrian frowned.
“Reed?”
“Yes.”
“He was the lead officer?”
Rachel nodded.
“He was also a longtime friend of your family.”
The room became silent.
Westwood connections.
Again.
Always the same pattern.
Someone powerful.
Someone protected.
Someone who believed money could bury the truth.
Adrian stood.
“Find him.”
Rachel did not move.
“He disappeared.”
Adrian stared.
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“Convenient.”
“Very.”
Before Adrian could respond, his phone rang.
Madison.
He looked at the screen.
For three years, seeing her name brought comfort.
Now it brought suspicion.
He answered.
“What do you want?”
Silence.
Then her voice.
Broken.
“Adrian, please.”
He said nothing.
“I know what you think.”
“No.”
His voice was cold.
“You don’t.”
Madison inhaled.
“I made mistakes.”
That surprised him.
Not because she admitted it.
Because she chose that word.
Mistakes.
Not lies.
Not betrayal.
Mistakes.
“What mistakes?”
A long pause.
“I went into Claire’s room.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Finally.
The truth.
“When?”
“After she died.”
He laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because he was hurt.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Madison’s voice cracked.
“Because I was looking for something Claire had.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
A dangerous answer.
“You broke into my dead wife’s room because you didn’t know what you were searching for?”
Madison started crying.
But Adrian no longer knew if her tears were real.
“Claire was angry with me before she died.”
“Why?”
Silence.
“Because she found out.”
Adrian’s heart stopped.
“Found out what?”
Madison whispered:
“The account.”
The word echoed.
Adrian immediately looked at Claire’s files.
“The missing account.”
Madison said nothing.
And that silence was confirmation.
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who does?”
Another silence.
Then:
“Caleb.”
Adrian froze.
His younger brother.
The person he trusted.
The person who told him for three years:
“Claire’s death was an accident.”
The person who encouraged him to move on.
“No.”
Madison’s voice softened.
“I’m sorry.”
Adrian ended the call.
For several minutes, he sat there.
Unable to process.
Caleb Westwood had always been the opposite of Adrian.
Where Adrian was serious, Caleb was charming.
Where Adrian carried responsibility, Caleb chased pleasure.
People underestimated him.
Maybe that was the point.
Rachel watched him carefully.
“Adrian.”
“What?”
“You need to understand something.”
He looked up.
“When someone commits a crime, they rarely act alone.”
That afternoon, Adrian requested access to Westwood Holdings financial records.
The request was denied.
Reason:
Pending internal authorization.
He laughed when he saw it.
Because he was the CEO.
Someone had restricted his access.
Someone inside his own company.
He called the financial department.
The employee answering sounded nervous.
“Mr. Westwood?”
“Who restricted my account?”
Silence.
“Answer me.”
Finally:
“Mr. Caleb Westwood.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
The betrayal was no longer a possibility.
It was a fact.
That evening, Adrian confronted Caleb.
He found him at the family club.
Exactly where he expected.
A glass of whiskey.
A smile.
No fear.
“Brother.”
Caleb stood.
“You look terrible.”
Adrian stared.
“You blocked my access.”
Caleb’s smile faded.
“So?”
The answer shocked Adrian.
Not because Caleb admitted it.
Because he did not care.
“What are you hiding?”
Caleb laughed.
“Still obsessed with Claire?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Be careful.”
Caleb stepped closer.
“You know what your problem is?”
“What?”
“You think Claire was perfect.”
Adrian said nothing.
“She wasn’t.”
“Don’t.”
“She was digging into things she didn’t understand.”
Adrian grabbed his arm.
“What things?”
Caleb smiled.
A cold smile.
“Ask yourself why Claire hid evidence from you.”
Adrian released him.
“What?”
Caleb leaned closer.
“She didn’t trust you.”
The words hit exactly where Caleb intended.
But then Caleb made one mistake.
He smiled.
Because Claire’s letter had said something different.
She trusted Adrian.
She only feared the people around him.
That night, Adrian returned home.
On his desk was a package.
No sender.
No address.
Inside was a single document.
A bank statement.
A secret account.
The owner:
Claire Westwood.
Amount:
$20,000,000.
Adrian stared.
Because Claire had never mentioned this money.
At the bottom of the page was one transaction.
Three years ago.
The day before her death.
A transfer.
Recipient:
Madison Cole.
Adrian stopped breathing.
For a moment, he thought:
Madison did it.
Madison stole from Claire.
Madison killed her.
Then he noticed something else.
The transfer description.
Only four words.
Payment for protection.
Adrian’s blood ran cold.
Because suddenly the question changed.
It was no longer:
Did Madison betray Claire?
The question was:
Who was Claire trying to protect?
And why did she pay Madison to keep someone else’s secret?
May you like
End of Chapter 4
Next: Chapter 5 – The Family That Lied
