Chapter 4 - THE ACCOUNT WITH HIS MOTHER’S NAME
Patricia read every withdrawal aloud.
Twenty-five thousand dollars.
Forty thousand.
Twelve thousand five hundred.
Another thirty thousand.
The transactions led to a holding company called Blue Crest Development.
Richard gripped the statement.
“What is Blue Crest?”
Brandon rubbed a hand over his face.
“It’s part of the lake project.”
“You took our retirement money?”
“I invested it.”
“You stole it,” Patricia whispered.
“I was going to return everything after the financing closed.”
“You told us our accounts were moved because the bank was changing systems.”
“It was temporary.”
Richard stood so abruptly that his chair fell backward.
“You had me sign forms.”
Brandon’s voice rose.
“You signed them willingly.”
“You said they were tax documents.”
“I explained the opportunity.”
“No, you did not.”
Emily looked at David.
“How did you get this?”
“I didn’t.”
David nodded toward the pages scattered across the patio.
“That statement wasn’t in my files.”
Everyone turned toward Brandon.
Brandon looked confused.
Then a new voice came from behind the open sliding door.
“I put it there.”
Melissa Grant stepped onto the porch.
She was in her early forties, wearing black trousers and a white blouse. Her dark hair was tied back, and she carried a large envelope beneath one arm.
Brandon stared at her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Finishing what I should have done months ago.”
“You’re fired.”
“I resigned this morning.”
Melissa looked at David.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
Emily’s eyes moved between them.
“You know each other?”
“She contacted me yesterday,” David said.
Brandon stepped toward Melissa.
“You copied private documents.”
“I copied evidence.”
“You’re going to prison.”
“So might you.”
Melissa placed the envelope on the table.
Inside were copies of loan applications, bank transfers, payroll reports, and emails.
She removed a small flash drive.
“This contains everything from the office server.”
Brandon laughed nervously.
“You think stolen files will help you?”
“They weren’t stolen. I was the records administrator, and several documents contain my forged electronic signature.”
Melissa pulled out the property transfer.
“I did not notarize this.”
David nodded.
“That is what she told me.”
Brandon turned to his parents.
“She’s lying because I fired her.”
“You just said she was fired after she arrived,” Emily said.
He glared at her.
Melissa continued.
“Three months ago, Brandon asked me to prepare a trust amendment. I refused because David was not present. Two weeks later, I found the recorded copy in the company files with my notary stamp attached.”
“Anyone could have used it.”
“The physical stamp was locked in your desk.”
Brandon’s expression changed.
Melissa placed a photograph on the table.
It showed the open drawer in Brandon’s office. Inside were copies of David’s driver’s license, Richard’s retirement statements, and Emily’s hospital employment records.
Emily picked up the photograph.
“Why did you have my employment records?”
Melissa looked at her with sympathy.
“He applied for two loans using your income.”
The backyard seemed to tilt around Emily.
“What loans?”
“One business expansion loan and one private bridge loan.”
“I never signed either.”
“The lender has electronic signatures.”
David’s jaw tightened.
Emily sat down slowly.
Brandon moved closer.
“Listen to me. You benefited from that money.”
“Did I?”
“The house. The pool. The vacations.”
“I paid for our vacations.”
“Not all of them.”
Emily stared at him.
Her shock was becoming something colder.
“At the hospital last month, my credit check showed inquiries I didn’t recognize. You said it was probably an error.”
“It was.”
“You used my identity.”
“I used our financial profile.”
“My identity.”
“We’re married. Stop acting like I robbed a stranger.”
David’s hands curled at his sides.
Melissa opened the final folder.
“There’s more.”
Brandon snapped, “Shut your mouth.”
She ignored him.
“The payroll account is almost empty. Employee insurance premiums were deducted from their paychecks but never transferred to the insurance provider.”
Emily understood immediately.
“That means the workers may not have coverage.”
Melissa nodded.
“Several claims have already been denied.”
Richard lowered himself into his chair.
“How much money is missing?”
“From payroll, retirement accounts, vendor deposits, and loans?”
Melissa looked directly at Brandon.
“Just over two million dollars.”
Patricia began to cry.
Brandon stared at the pool as if calculating whether he could still talk his way out of the disaster.
Then his disconnected phone connected to the backyard Wi-Fi and began to ring.
The name on the screen was BLUE CREST PRIVATE CAPITAL.
Brandon reached for it.
David picked it up first and answered.
A man spoke loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.
“Mr. Hale, the transfer deadline was today. If the additional collateral documents aren’t filed by midnight, we’re taking possession of the lake property and initiating recovery against every listed guarantor.”
David’s eyes remained on Brandon.
“Who are the listed guarantors?”
The caller paused.
“David Whitaker, Emily Hale, Richard Hale, and Patricia Hale.”
No one breathed.
May you like
Brandon had not merely stolen from them.
He had chained all four of them to the same collapsing deal.
