Chapter 5 - Natalie Left a Warning)
Jackson did not sleep.
By sunrise, two police officers were stationed outside the Reed house.
Detective Ortiz treated the anonymous message seriously.
She ordered the number traced.
It came from a prepaid device that had connected briefly to a cellular tower six miles away before going offline.
Sloane was still under investigation, but her attorney had secured her release pending formal charges.
Jackson hated knowing she was free.
At eight that morning, Margaret Ellison arrived carrying a leather document case.
The sixty-one-year-old attorney had represented Jackson and Natalie for years.
She looked exhausted.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"For what?"
"For not telling you sooner."
They sat in Jackson's study.
Hannah remained with Caleb upstairs.
Detective Ortiz joined by phone.
Margaret opened the case.
Inside were copies of Natalie's estate amendments.
She placed two documents side by side.
The first was dated three months before Natalie's death.
It named Sloane Whitaker as emergency guardian for Caleb if both parents became unable to serve.
It also granted Sloane limited authority over distributions from Caleb's trust.
The second document was dated nine days before Natalie's accident.
Every reference to Sloane had been removed.
An independent professional guardian would be appointed instead.
"What happened between these dates?" Jackson asked.
Margaret folded her hands.
"Natalie came to my office unexpectedly."
"Was Sloane with her?"
"No."
"Did she say why she changed it?"
"She asked me one question first."
"What?"
Margaret looked at him.
"She asked whether someone could steal from a charitable foundation without the board immediately seeing it."
Jackson frowned.
"Natalie's foundation?"
"I assumed so."
"What did you tell her?"
"That it depended on access, accounting controls, and whether financial statements were being manipulated."
Jackson felt his chest tighten.
"Sloane became executive director after Natalie died."
"Yes."
"Was she involved in finances before?"
"She was operations director."
Jackson stood.
"What else did Natalie say?"
"Very little."
Margaret reached into the case again.
"But she gave me this."
A sealed envelope.
Jackson stared at the handwriting.
His wife's handwriting.
JACKSON.
The letters were unmistakable.
His hands shook as he picked it up.
"You've had this for eight months?"
"She instructed me not to give it to you unless someone attempted to use the earlier guardianship document."
Jackson looked up.
"Someone did?"
Margaret nodded.
"Yesterday morning."
His stomach dropped.
"Who?"
"A law firm representing Sloane contacted me."
"Before the incident at my house?"
"Three hours before."
Jackson opened the envelope.
Inside was one page.
Natalie's handwriting filled it.
Jackson,
If Margaret is giving you this, then something I was afraid of may have happened.
I need you to trust your instincts, even if what you find hurts.
I discovered irregular transfers from the foundation. I don't yet know the full amount.
The approvals appear to have come from my account.
I did not approve them.
Sloane had access to operational systems and knew more about my passwords than I should have allowed.
I confronted her indirectly.
She denied everything before I finished asking the question.
That scared me.
I am changing Caleb's documents today.
Please do not allow guilt, grief or loyalty to make decisions for you.
Protect our son first.
I love you.
Natalie.
Jackson stopped reading.
For a long time, no one spoke.
Detective Ortiz's voice finally came through the phone.
"Mr. Reed?"
Jackson looked at the page again.
Natalie had known.
Not everything.
But enough to be afraid.
Margaret continued.
"There's more."
Jackson looked at her.
"How much more?"
"Natalie asked me to review the foundation's accounts quietly."
"And?"
"I found six transfers totaling one point eight million dollars."
Jackson stared at her.
"Where did the money go?"
"Shell consulting firms."
"Who owned them?"
"We couldn't determine that before she died."
"Why didn't you continue after the accident?"
Margaret's face tightened.
"I tried."
"What stopped you?"
"The foundation board provided records showing Natalie herself had approved the transfers."
Jackson shook his head.
"She just told you she hadn't."
"I know."
"So you believed the records?"
"I believed there might be something I didn't understand."
Jackson looked at Natalie's letter.
"And Sloane became executive director."
"Yes."
"Giving her control over the investigation."
Margaret said nothing.
That was answer enough.
Detective Ortiz asked Margaret to send copies of everything.
Then Jackson asked the question nobody wanted to answer.
"If Natalie discovered financial theft, removed Sloane from Caleb's trust, and died nine days later, what are the chances those things aren't connected?"
Ortiz replied carefully.
"We don't guess. We prove."
Jackson nodded.
"Then prove it."
After Margaret left, Jackson went upstairs.
Hannah sat on the nursery floor while Caleb stacked wooden blocks.
Jackson handed her Natalie's letter.
Hannah read it slowly.
When she finished, she looked at him.
"I'm sorry."
Jackson sat beside his son.
Caleb handed him a block.
Jackson accepted it.
For months, his grief had been passive.
A weight.
Something that happened to him.
Now it changed.
It became direction.
He placed the block on top of Caleb's small tower.
Then his phone rang.
Detective Ortiz.
"We found something."
Jackson stood.
"What?"
"The police report from Natalie's crash mentions a mechanical inspection."
"I remember."
"The first inspection said no obvious defect."
"And?"
"A second report was ordered by the insurance company."
Jackson had never seen it.
Ortiz continued.
"It identified unusual damage near the rear brake line."
Jackson's blood went cold.
"What kind of damage?"
"The report couldn't determine whether it happened during the crash."
"But?"
"But the insurance investigator recommended additional testing."
"Was it done?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"The vehicle was released."
"To whom?"
Ortiz paused.
"Someone signed for it on behalf of the Reed family."
May you like
Jackson already knew the answer before she said the name.
"Sloane Whitaker."
