Chapter 4 - The Invoice Without a Company
Richard walked through the café as if he owned it.
He wore a charcoal suit and the expression he reserved for business meetings where everyone else had already lost.
Beth moved aside.
Their father placed one hand against her back.
“Your husband has been trying to reach you.”
Beth said nothing.
Richard looked at Claire.
“You should be resting.”
“I was having coffee with my sister.”
“You were upsetting your sister.”
“She was telling me about the $18,000.”
Beth’s face drained of color.
Richard did not look at her.
Instead, he pulled out the empty chair and sat across from Claire.
“Your mother and I hoped to discuss this privately.”
“Then discuss it.”
“The foundation experienced a temporary administrative shortfall.”
“You took money from my maternity account.”
“The funds remained within the family’s control.”
“They did not remain in my account.”
Richard folded his hands.
“You have always struggled to understand long-term planning.”
Claire almost laughed.
She had built a profitable design company while her father still referred to it as a hobby.
“Where did the money go?”
“It supported your sister.”
Beth turned toward him.
“You said it was for the foundation.”
Richard finally looked at her.
“It was connected to the foundation.”
“That is not what you said.”
“Go home, Beth.”
“No.”
The word surprised all three of them.
Richard’s expression hardened.
Beth sat beside Claire.
“Show her the invoice,” she said.
Richard remained still.
Claire looked between them.
“What invoice?”
Beth opened her purse. She removed a folded sheet of paper and placed it on the table.
The document looked like a medical services invoice. It listed six monthly payments of $3,000 made to a company called North Vale Consulting.
There was no address.
No phone number.
No description of services.
Only an account number and six dates matching the withdrawals from Claire’s fund.
At the bottom, someone had written Approved for B.M.
“Does B.M. mean Beth Mercer?” Claire asked.
Richard reached for the invoice.
Claire pulled it away.
“North Vale Consulting does not exist,” Beth said. “I searched for it.”
Richard’s voice became quiet.
“You had no right to remove that document from my office.”
“You had no right to use my name.”
“Everything I have done has protected you.”
“From what?”
Richard stood.
Several customers turned to look.
He lowered his voice.
“You are both about to become mothers. This childish rebellion ends now.”
Claire photographed the invoice.
Richard reached for her phone, but Ethan’s voice came from behind him.
“Do not touch her.”
Claire had texted Ethan the café address when Richard entered.
He now stood beside the table, calm but ready.
Richard stepped back.
“This is a family matter.”
“Claire is my family.”
“You are the reason she is confused.”
“No,” Claire said. “The missing money is the reason I am asking questions.”
Richard stared at her for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
It was not a kind smile.
“You want an answer? The money paid for an investigation.”
Claire’s stomach tightened.
“An investigation into what?”
“Ethan.”
Claire looked at her husband.
Richard continued.
“His business. His debts. His past relationships. His family history. Your mother and I had to know who had gained access to our daughter.”
Ethan’s expression did not change.
“You paid an investigator $18,000 using Claire’s money?”
“We used family resources to protect family assets.”
“What did the investigator find?” Claire asked.
Richard picked up his coat.
“You should ask your husband.”
He walked toward the exit.
Beth remained seated, staring at Ethan.
Claire turned to him.
“Is there something you have not told me?”
Ethan looked at the invoice.
“North Vale Consulting did not investigate me.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know what real private investigation invoices look like.”
Richard stopped near the door.
Ethan raised his eyes.
“And because North Vale was the name of a company my father used twenty-two years ago.”
Richard’s hand tightened around the door handle.
Claire felt the air leave her lungs.
“You told me you had never met my father,” Ethan said.
Richard did not turn around.
May you like
“I lied.”
Then he walked out.
