Chapter 3 - Seven Hundred Thousand DollarsI ended the call without telling Richard anything more.
Not because I trusted Ethan.
Because I wanted to watch his face.
People reveal a surprising amount when they believe you know something but aren’t sure how much.
I returned to the kitchen.
Vanessa was demanding answers about Alder Holdings.
Ethan barely heard her.
He was looking at me.
“What did Richard want?”
I picked up my coffee.
“Company business.”
“What company business?”
“That’s an interesting question.”
Vanessa groaned.
“Can everybody stop speaking in riddles?”
I ignored her.
“Ethan, when was the last time you reviewed GreenStone’s operating account personally?”
His eyes shifted.
“Why?”
“Answer me.”
“I review it all the time.”
“How often?”
“Mom—”
“How often?”
He looked toward the window.
“Our controller handles routine transactions.”
“Daniel Mercer?”
“Yes.”
Daniel Mercer had worked for GreenStone for four years.
Quiet man.
Early fifties.
CPA.
Ethan had hired him after saying the company had become too large for family bookkeeping.
I had met him perhaps six times.
He always seemed nervous around me.
Now I wondered why.
“Have you authorized distributions from company funds to yourself?” I asked.
Vanessa frowned.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“Sometimes.”
“How much?”
“Mom, this isn’t the time.”
“It became the time five minutes ago.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“This conversation is over.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
She blinked.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“Actually, I do. I’m his wife.”
“And I’m the largest individual investor in his company.”
“A passive investor.”
“Not anymore.”
I watched Ethan.
His face had gone gray.
“Margaret,” Vanessa said sharply, “you’re trying to destroy your own son because your feelings got hurt.”
That sentence almost worked.
For a second, guilt stirred.
Then I remembered the chicken leaving my plate.
The discussions about putting me in a senior home.
My electronic signature on transfers I had never approved.
“No,” I said. “I’m trying to find out whether my son stole from me.”
Vanessa’s reaction was immediate.
She gasped.
Ethan did not.
That told me more than anything.
I stared at him.
“You knew.”
“Mom—”
“You knew there were unauthorized transfers.”
“It’s complicated.”
My knees suddenly felt weak.
I pulled out a chair and sat.
Vanessa moved beside Ethan.
“Don’t say anything else.”
I looked at her.
That was interesting.
Not What transfers?
Not What are you talking about?
Just Don’t say anything else.
“You know too,” I whispered.
Her eyes hardened.
“We should have our attorney present.”
I almost laughed.
“Your attorney?”
“Yes.”
“For a family misunderstanding?”
She said nothing.
I turned back to Ethan.
“Seven hundred thousand dollars.”
Vanessa flinched.
Ethan closed his eyes.
There it was.
Confirmation.
I felt my heart thumping.
“Where is it?”
“Mom, listen to me.”
“Where is my money?”
“It wasn’t stolen.”
“Then where is it?”
Ethan paced away from the island.
“GreenStone had cash-flow problems.”
I stared.
“When?”
“Last year.”
“You told me last year was your best year.”
“Revenue was high.”
“But?”
“Margins were crushed.”
“Why?”
“Material costs. Labor. Two contracts went bad.”
“And you didn’t tell me.”
“I was trying to fix it.”
“So you took money?”
“No.”
He rubbed his face.
“We moved funds around.”
“Whose funds?”
“The investment reserve.”
“My investment reserve?”
“It was temporary.”
“Using my signature?”
Silence.
“Ethan.”
“I didn’t forge anything.”
“Then who did?”
Vanessa slammed her hand against the counter.
“This is getting completely out of control.”
I turned toward her.
“Who did?”
She crossed her arms.
“I have no idea.”
I believed her tone even less than I believed her words.
“Margaret,” Ethan said, “we can repay everything.”
“With what?”
He hesitated.
Vanessa answered.
“The Harrington project.”
That caught my attention.
GreenStone had been pursuing the Harrington redevelopment for nearly eight months.
A luxury residential complex outside Chicago.
If GreenStone won the landscaping and grounds contract, it could generate more than twenty million dollars over four years.
Ethan had spoken about it constantly.
Apparently, their financial survival depended on it more than I realized.
“We’re close to signing,” he said.
“How close?”
“Two weeks.”
“And when the money comes in?”
“We restore the reserve.”
I stared at him.
“You were planning to hide this permanently.”
“No.”
“You were planning to replace the money before I noticed.”
He didn’t answer.
“That’s hiding it.”
“Mom, I was desperate.”
“Desperate men ask for help.”
His face twisted.
“You don’t understand what it’s like.”
That hurt.
“I don’t understand?”
“You and Dad built the company in a different time.”
“What does that have to do with stealing?”
“I did not steal!”
His voice echoed through the kitchen.
For a moment, all three of us froze.
Ethan lowered his voice.
“I borrowed.”
“Without permission.”
“Yes.”
“With a signature I didn’t provide.”
He looked away.
“Yes.”
“That’s theft.”
Vanessa stepped in.
“Then maybe you should ask why he felt he couldn’t come to you.”
I turned slowly.
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve controlled him his entire life.”
Ethan murmured, “Vanessa, stop.”
“No. Someone needs to say it.”
She pointed toward me.
“You pay for things and then expect everyone to worship you.”
I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You live in my house.”
“Because Ethan is your son.”
“You spend money from my household account.”
“Because you offered.”
“I financed the company.”
“Because you wanted control!”
Her voice rose.
“You use money to keep everyone dependent on you, and now that one dinner didn’t go your way, suddenly you’re Mother Teresa being betrayed.”
I stood.
Ethan looked horrified.
But Vanessa wasn’t finished.
“You know what I think? I think you enjoy being needed.”
I walked toward her.
Not close enough to threaten her.
Close enough that she could see I was not retreating.
“You may believe whatever makes you sleep comfortably.”
“I sleep fine.”
“I’m sure.”
I picked up my phone.
“But from this moment forward, the household account is closed to you.”
Her eyes widened.
“What?”
“Your supplementary card will be canceled.”
“You can’t—”
“The Mercedes lease GreenStone pays for will be reviewed.”
Her face changed.
“Margaret.”
“The club membership charged to the company will be reviewed.”
Ethan stepped between us.
“Mom, don’t do this.”
“And every transaction made from GreenStone over the past three years will be audited.”
Vanessa stared at Ethan.
Then at me.
For the first time since she married my son, she looked afraid.
Good.
Not because I wanted revenge.
Because fear meant there was more.
I called Richard again.
“Arrange a forensic accountant.”
Ethan grabbed the edge of the counter.
“Mom.”
“And notify the bank that no transfer requiring my authorization is valid without verbal confirmation directly from me.”
Vanessa whispered something under her breath.
I looked at her.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“No. Say it.”
She raised her chin.
“I said you’ll regret this.”
I studied her.
“Why?”
“Because that business is Ethan’s life.”
“Then he should have protected it.”
“You’re willing to ruin your own family.”
“No, Vanessa.”
I walked toward the doorway.
“I’m finally willing to stop financing people who are ruining it themselves.”
Behind me, Ethan called my name.
I paused.
He sounded younger.
“Mom.”
I turned.
His eyes were wet.
For one second I almost saw my little boy again.
“Please don’t call the police.”
Vanessa spun toward him.
“Ethan!”
My blood ran cold.
I had never mentioned police.
Which meant Ethan believed whatever they had done could send someone to jail.
I stared at him for a long moment.
Then I asked the question I suddenly feared more than any answer.
“What else have you done?”
Nobody spoke.
Vanessa looked toward the stairs.
Ethan looked at the floor.
And somewhere inside that enormous house, a phone began ringing.
Vanessa’s phone.
She pulled it from her robe.
The screen lit up with a name.
Daniel Mercer.
The controller.
She rejected the call immediately.
May you like
Unfortunately for her, I saw it.
And she saw me see it.
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