CHAPTER 6 — THE MONEY THAT DISAPPEARED
CHAPTER 6 — THE MONEY THAT DISAPPEARED
Nathan stared at the document on Daniel's laptop.
The name was unmistakable.
ADRIAN COLE.
His hands went cold.
For five years, Nathan had believed he had lost Grace.
For one night, he had believed he had finally found his daughter.
Now he had discovered something far more terrifying.
Lily had a twin.
And someone had been controlling that child's inheritance without Nathan's knowledge.
“Show me the transfer again,” Nathan said.
Daniel enlarged the document.
“The shares were moved at 8:42 this morning.”
“By Martin?”
“Yes.”
“Using what authority?”
“Your father's original trust authorization.”
Nathan's jaw tightened.
“My father has been dead for five years.”
“I know.”
“Then how can a dead man's authorization move billions?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Because the authorization was never revoked.”
Nathan stared at the screen.
“How much?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Approximately four hundred and eighty million dollars in controlling assets.”
Nathan slowly sat down.
Four hundred and eighty million.
Gone.
Not exactly stolen.
Transferred.
To a child who officially didn't exist.
And somehow, someone possessed the legal authority to control those assets.
Nathan looked at Victoria.
“You said Adrian was taken because of the inheritance.”
She nodded.
“Your father believed whoever controlled Adrian could control the trust.”
“Then why move the money now?”
“I don't know.”
Nathan turned toward Daniel.
“Trace every account.”
“I've already started.”
“Where did the money go?”
“That's the problem.”
Daniel rotated the screen.
“The trust transferred the shares to Adrian's name.”
Nathan frowned.
“That's not money.”
“No.”
“Then where is the cash?”
Daniel opened another file.
“That's what I wanted to show you.”
The numbers appeared one after another.
Nathan stared.
His family's liquid assets had been slowly drained for years.
Not millions at once.
Small amounts.
Twenty thousand.
Fifty thousand.
One hundred thousand.
Then larger transfers.
Five hundred thousand.
Two million.
Eight million.
The withdrawals had been disguised as consulting fees, construction expenses, charitable donations and offshore investments.
But the total was staggering.
$73,814,000.
Nathan looked up.
“Seventy-three million?”
Daniel nodded.
“Gone.”
“When?”
“Over the past five years.”
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
“Starting when?”
Daniel highlighted the first transaction.
The date was five years ago.
Three days after Grace disappeared.
Nathan's face went blank.
“They started stealing the money after Grace vanished.”
“Yes.”
“Who authorized the first transfer?”
Daniel enlarged the signature.
Nathan recognized it immediately.
His father's.
But beneath it was another signature.
Nathan leaned forward.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
“My father never worked with him.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Are you sure?”
Nathan pointed.
“That isn't Martin.”
Daniel zoomed in.
Nathan stared.
The signature belonged to someone else.
Someone whose name had appeared repeatedly throughout the investigation.
Richard Cole.
Nathan's uncle.
His father's brother.
His expression hardened.
“Richard.”
Daniel nodded.
“He's been moving money for five years.”
Nathan stood.
“Call the bank.”
“I already did.”
“And?”
“They won't discuss the accounts without additional authorization.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“I'm the CEO.”
“They don't care.”
“Then get the court involved.”
“I will.”
Nathan walked toward the window.
“But first, I want to know where the seventy-three million went.”
Daniel hesitated.
“I think I found part of it.”
Nathan turned.
“Where?”
“An account in Mexico.”
“Whose?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Grace's.”
Nathan froze.
Grace sat in the detention center staring at the ceiling.
She had stopped asking what time it was.
Every minute felt identical.
Her shoulder still hurt.
Her wrists were bruised.
But the physical pain was nothing compared to one question.
Where was Lily?
A guard opened the door.
“Visitor.”
Grace stood immediately.
“Nathan?”
“No.”
Her heart sank.
“Who?”
“Your attorney.”
The lawyer entered carrying a folder.
Grace sat.
“Is Lily safe?”
“Yes.”
Grace exhaled.
“And Nathan?”
“He's trying to get you released.”
She looked at him carefully.
“Trying?”
“He's investigating the evidence.”
Grace lowered her gaze.
“Then he knows.”
“Knows what?”
“That I never abandoned him.”
The lawyer nodded.
“He knows.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Thank God.”
But the lawyer didn't smile.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“We found financial records.”
Grace frowned.
“What records?”
“An account in your name.”
She looked confused.
“I don't have an account.”
“You did.”
“When?”
“Five years ago.”
Grace shook her head.
“No.”
The lawyer placed a statement in front of her.
Grace stared.
The account had been opened three days after Lily's birth.
Under her name.
There were deposits.
Large ones.
Then withdrawals.
Every month.
For five years.
Grace's hands trembled.
“That's not mine.”
“I know.”
“Who opened it?”
“We don't know.”
Grace looked at the transaction history.
Then she saw something familiar.
Her blood froze.
A reference number.
She remembered it.
Not because she had ever used the account.
Because she had seen it once before.
Five years ago.
At the clinic.
Grace whispered:
“This was connected to my medical file.”
The lawyer looked up.
“What?”
“The clinic had a number.”
She pointed.
“That's it.”
The lawyer studied the document.
“Why would your medical file be connected to a bank account?”
Grace shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Then she noticed the total balance.
Her eyes widened.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“There was money in this account?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
The lawyer looked at the final statement.
“Approximately twelve million dollars passed through it.”
Grace stared at him.
“Twelve million?”
“Yes.”
“I never saw a cent.”
The lawyer closed the folder.
“That's why I think someone was using your identity.”
Grace whispered:
“Why?”
He looked at her.
“To pay for something.”
“What?”
He didn't answer.
Grace's mind raced.
The clinic.
The baby.
The second child.
The money.
Then one terrible possibility appeared.
“Adrian.”
The lawyer stared.
“How did you know that name?”
Grace looked up.
Her face had gone pale.
“Because that's the name they gave him.”
Nathan returned to the mansion at dusk.
Lily was sitting in the living room coloring.
She looked up.
“Daddy!”
Nathan smiled despite everything.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
She ran to him.
He picked her up.
For a moment, he forgot about the missing millions.
The trust.
Richard.
Victoria.
Adrian.
Then Lily touched his face.
“Are you sad?”
“A little.”
“Why?”
“Because I found out someone took something from our family.”
She thought about it.
“Can we get it back?”
Nathan smiled.
“Yes.”
She hugged him.
“Good.”
Nathan kissed her forehead.
“I promise.”
He placed her down.
“Can you stay here with the housekeeper?”
“Why?”
“I have to talk to someone.”
“Who?”
“Victoria.”
Lily's expression changed.
“I don't like her.”
Nathan frowned.
“Why?”
“She looks at me funny.”
Nathan crouched.
“What does she do?”
“She watches me.”
“Anything else?”
Lily shook her head.
Then she whispered:
“She asked me about Adrian.”
Nathan's blood ran cold.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“What did she ask?”
“She asked if I remembered my brother.”
Nathan stared.
“What did you say?”
“I said I didn't have a brother.”
“And what did she say?”
Lily looked confused.
“She said…”
The child frowned, trying to remember.
“She said, 'That's exactly what you're supposed to say.'”
Nathan went completely still.
Victoria was in the library.
She stood when Nathan entered.
“Nathan.”
“Did you talk to Lily about Adrian?”
Victoria's face drained of color.
“No.”
“Don't lie.”
“I didn't.”
“She told me you asked her.”
Victoria looked away.
“I only asked what she remembered.”
“Why?”
“Because I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“That she'd remember.”
Nathan stared at her.
“Remember what?”
Victoria hesitated.
Then whispered:
“The night they took him.”
Nathan's heart pounded.
“You were there?”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“You were there.”
“I didn't take him.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I watched.”
“Why?”
“My father made me.”
Nathan's voice became cold.
“What happened?”
Victoria began crying.
“Grace was unconscious after the delivery.”
Nathan froze.
“She gave birth to both children?”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“Your father took Adrian.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“You saw him?”
“Yes.”
“Where did he take him?”
Victoria shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Nathan grabbed the edge of the desk.
“You're lying.”
“I swear.”
“You've lied to me for years.”
“I know.”
“Why should I believe you now?”
Victoria looked directly at him.
“Because I have proof.”
She opened a drawer.
Pulled out an old envelope.
Nathan took it.
Inside was a photograph.
Grace lying unconscious in a hospital bed.
Two newborn babies beside her.
And Edward Cole standing at the foot of the bed.
Nathan's heart broke.
But there was something else.
A second photograph.
Edward was holding Adrian.
Beside him stood Richard.
And behind them—
Victoria.
Nathan looked at her.
“You took these?”
Victoria nodded.
“Why?”
“I was afraid I'd need them someday.”
“You knew this would happen.”
“I knew your father was doing something wrong.”
“Then why didn't you stop him?”
Victoria's face crumpled.
“Because I was a coward.”
Nathan stared at the photograph.
“What happened after this?”
“I left.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“That's impossible.”
“My father took Adrian.”
“And you didn't follow?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Victoria whispered:
“Because I heard him say something.”
“What?”
“He said the baby was going to a man named…”
She stopped.
Nathan waited.
“Who?”
Victoria swallowed.
“Dr. Samuel Reed.”
Nathan frowned.
“Who is that?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel suddenly entered the room.
“Nathan.”
He stopped when he saw the photographs.
“What are those?”
Nathan handed them over.
Daniel examined them.
Then his expression changed.
“I know that name.”
“Reed?”
Daniel nodded.
“Dr. Samuel Reed was a private fertility specialist.”
Nathan stared.
“Fertility?”
“He ran an underground reproductive clinic.”
Nathan's voice became cold.
“Find him.”
“I'll try.”
“No.”
Nathan grabbed his coat.
“We're finding him tonight.”
Across the city, Richard sat in a private office.
A bank statement lay before him.
He stared at the numbers.
The transfer had gone through.
The controlling shares were now in Adrian Cole's name.
He smiled.
Then his phone rang.
“It's done.”
The voice on the other end asked:
“And Nathan?”
“He knows about the money.”
“Will that matter?”
“No.”
“Are you certain?”
Richard looked at the file on his desk.
A photograph of a little boy.
Adrian.
Four years old.
Standing beside a woman.
Richard smiled.
“Nathan thinks he's looking for a missing child.”
He leaned back.
“He doesn't realize the child has been living under another name for years.”
“And the woman?”
“She's ready.”
“Good.”
Richard ended the call.
Then opened another folder.
Inside was a bank transfer authorization.
The recipient account belonged to a charity.
But the charity was fake.
The money would disappear within forty-eight hours.
Seventy-three million dollars would become almost impossible to trace.
Richard smiled.
Then his phone rang again.
This time, the voice sounded frightened.
“Richard.”
“What?”
“Someone accessed the old clinic records.”
Richard sat upright.
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
“Find out.”
“They already downloaded everything.”
Richard's face changed.
“What did they download?”
“Birth records.”
“Which ones?”
A pause.
“Both.”
Richard stood.
“Destroy the originals.”
“It's too late.”
Richard slammed his fist onto the desk.
“Then find Nathan.”
At 11:26 p.m., Nathan and Daniel arrived at an old building outside the city.
The sign above the door had been removed years ago.
Daniel looked at his phone.
“This is where Dr. Reed used to operate.”
Nathan opened the door.
Inside, the lights were on.
Someone was still using the building.
They walked down the corridor.
Then heard a child laughing.
Nathan stopped.
His heart slammed against his chest.
A little boy ran around the corner.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A small birthmark beneath his left ear.
He stopped when he saw Nathan.
Nathan couldn't move.
The boy stared at him.
Then slowly whispered:
“Are you my father?”
Nathan's world stopped.
Daniel stared.
“Adrian?”
The boy nodded.
Nathan took one step forward.
Then another.
His eyes filled with tears.
“What's your name?”
The child smiled.
“Adrian.”
Nathan fell to his knees.
He couldn't speak.
The boy walked toward him.
And when he was only a few feet away, another voice came from the doorway.
“Don't touch him.”
Nathan looked up.
A woman stood there.
Grace's face flashed through his mind.
But this woman wasn't Grace.
She was holding a folder.
And she looked terrified.
Nathan stood.
“Who are you?”
The woman swallowed.
“My name is Elena Reed.”
“Dr. Reed's daughter?”
She nodded.
Nathan looked at Adrian.
“Where is his father?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“You're looking at him.”
Nathan frowned.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“Not you.”
Nathan froze.
“What are you saying?”
Elena looked toward Adrian.
“Your father wasn't the only man who knew about this child.”
Nathan's blood ran cold.
“Who else?”
She handed him the folder.
Inside was a DNA report.
Nathan looked at the first page.
His face went pale.
It wasn't his DNA.
It wasn't Richard's.
It wasn't Edward's.
The report identified another biological father.
Someone who had been listed on Adrian's original birth record.
Nathan slowly looked at Elena.
“Who?”
She whispered the name.
And Nathan realized the truth was even darker than he had imagined.
May you like
Because Adrian wasn't simply the missing heir.
He was the child of a secret that could destroy the entire Cole family.
