Chapter 3 - The Account With Her Name
Emily brought the photograph home and locked it inside the biscuit tin.
She spent the next morning studying every document Ruth had given her.
The returned envelopes had been mailed to addresses Emily had never lived at. One went to an apartment in Boston. Another went to a house in Wisconsin. A third was addressed to a condominium in Miami.
Each return receipt carried a variation of Emily’s signature.
None matched the way she actually wrote her name.
At the bottom of one document was a bank reference number.
Emily searched the number online.
It belonged to Lakefront Private Bank.
The bank occupied the first six floors of a glass tower along the Chicago River. Emily felt out of place the moment she entered. The lobby was silent, polished and guarded by people who examined her worn coat before looking at her face.
A young banker named Daniel Ruiz met her in a small office.
Emily placed her identification on the desk.
“I believe there may be an account here under my name.”
Daniel entered her information.
His expression remained professional until a warning appeared on his screen.
He read it twice.
“What is it?” Emily asked.
“I need to speak with my supervisor.”
He left the office.
Through the glass wall, Emily saw him approach an older woman near the security desk. The woman looked toward Emily, then made a telephone call.
Daniel returned ten minutes later.
“There is an investment relationship associated with your Social Security number.”
Emily’s breath caught.
“How much is in it?”
“I’m unable to disclose that.”
“It’s my account.”
“The account requires verification through the originating legal representative.”
“Who is that?”
Daniel glanced toward the security desk.
“Hale, Quinn and Pierce.”
Emily almost laughed at the absurdity.
“I have been trying to speak with them.”
“I can provide the account-opening date.”
He wrote it on a card and slid it across the desk.
The account had been opened on Emily’s twenty-first birthday.
“Who opened it?”
“That information is restricted.”
“Can you tell me whether I have ever withdrawn money?”
“No.”
“Can you tell me where the money went?”
Daniel hesitated.
His eyes shifted toward the glass wall again.
“Ms. Carter, I think you should obtain independent legal counsel.”
“I can’t afford legal counsel.”
“Then contact the Illinois Attorney General’s financial crimes division.”
Emily reached for the card.
Daniel placed his hand over it.
“One more thing,” he said quietly. “Someone placed an identity-verification block on this relationship thirty minutes ago.”
“I’ve been sitting here longer than thirty minutes.”
“I know.”
“Who placed it?”
Before Daniel could answer, the office door opened.
His supervisor entered with a security officer.
“Ms. Carter, I’m afraid we cannot assist you further today.”
Emily stood.
“I only asked about an account in my own name.”
“You will need to leave.”
Daniel avoided looking at her.
Emily picked up Lily’s carrier and walked toward the lobby.
As she reached the revolving doors, her phone vibrated.
A text message appeared from an unknown number.
STOP ASKING ABOUT THE ACCOUNT.
Emily looked through the glass façade.
A black sedan was parked across the street.
The driver’s window began to rise the moment she noticed it.
Emily photographed the license plate.
Then the car pulled into traffic.
That evening, Daniel Ruiz called from a private number.
“I could lose my job for this,” he said.
“Why are you helping me?”
“Because my younger sister has a baby, and because the people inside that bank were afraid of your name.”
He told Emily that the account received annual deposits of $250,000.
Within forty-eight hours of each deposit, nearly all the money was transferred out.
“Where?”
“I only saw one destination before they locked the file.”
“What was it?”
“A company called Northbridge Consulting.”
Emily searched the name while Daniel remained on the line.
May you like
The registered address belonged to an empty warehouse.
The listed director was Vanessa Hale.
