Chapter 11 - The Money Behind The Parties)
The trusts were supposed to be untouchable.
That was what Alexander had believed.
Isabel's father, George Bellamy, had established them with layers of protection.
Neither Alexander nor any future spouse could simply withdraw money.
But the trusts reimbursed specific expenses related to education, health, and child welfare.
Vanessa discovered the weakness.
Invoices.
She created companies.
Tutoring services that did not exist.
Educational consultants who never met the girls.
Specialized child development programs.
Therapeutic travel.
Private language instruction.
Each invoice was small enough to avoid immediate suspicion.
Twenty thousand.
Fifteen thousand.
Thirty-two thousand.
Over ten months, hundreds of thousands disappeared.
Some requests carried Alexander's forged approval.
Others were submitted through an administrator Vanessa had manipulated.
Daniel traced payments.
Several ended at Greenstone Lifestyle Holdings.
Others reached Cynthia.
One went to a man named Marcus Vale.
Alexander did not recognize the name.
Rebecca did.
"Private document specialist."
Alexander stared.
"What does that mean?"
"In legitimate circumstances, he prepares international certifications."
"And illegitimate circumstances?"
Rebecca looked at the forged school documents.
"Exactly what you're thinking."
The financial crimes investigation expanded.
Vanessa's position became worse.
Cynthia hired her own lawyer.
Within forty-eight hours, she began cooperating.
Loyalty between friends lasted until prison became possible.
Cynthia claimed Vanessa planned everything.
Vanessa claimed Cynthia designed the financial scheme.
Alexander cared very little who betrayed whom.
He wanted every dollar restored to the girls.
More than that, he wanted to understand why nobody overseeing the accounts noticed.
A meeting with the trust administrator gave him an answer he disliked.
Vanessa had exploited Alexander's reputation.
When documents arrived bearing his signature, people assumed they were valid.
Nobody called him because powerful clients often hated unnecessary phone calls.
Alexander left the meeting furious.
At himself.
At the system.
At the habit of allowing wealth to replace attention.
That evening he called four separate family meetings.
Not one meeting with all four girls.
Four.
He had learned something during the first therapy appointment.
Quadruplets were not a single person.
Obvious.
Yet adults constantly treated them as a group.
The girls had different fears.
Different memories.
Different needs.
Valerie wanted to know schedules.
"When are you leaving?"
"When do you come back?"
"Who will be here?"
She needed certainty.
Camila wanted food nearby.
She began hiding crackers under pillows.
The therapist told Alexander not to punish the behavior.
So he placed a small basket of snacks in every bedroom.
Regina checked locks.
Every night she walked through the second floor making sure doors could open from the inside.
Alexander removed every unnecessary lock in the children's wing.
Sophie stopped sleeping without Oliver.
Alexander repaired the rabbit himself.
Badly.
The ear leaned sideways.
Sophie loved it.
Three weeks passed.
The mansion became quieter.
Alexander canceled most travel.
He promoted Daniel temporarily to chief operating officer.
Board members complained.
Alexander told them to complain without him.
One evening Daniel came to the house carrying files.
"You should see this."
Alexander was helping Camila build a cardboard castle.
"Can it wait?"
Daniel paused.
A month earlier, Alexander would have said the opposite.
He smiled.
"Yes."
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow."
Daniel left.
Camila looked up.
"Was that work?"
"Yes."
"Was it important?"
"Probably."
She considered.
"More important than my castle?"
Alexander examined the crooked cardboard tower.
"Nothing is more important than this architectural disaster."
Camila laughed.
The sound filled the room.
Alexander realized he had not heard that laugh in months.
The next morning, he reviewed Daniel's files.
Marcus Vale had received seventy thousand dollars.
The payment description read document legalization.
Rebecca investigated.
What she discovered made her drive personally to the mansion.
"Vanessa had passports prepared."
Alexander stared.
"For herself?"
"For the girls."
"They already have passports."
"Replacement passports."
"Why?"
"She reported the originals lost."
Alexander stood.
"They're in my safe."
"I know."
"So why replace them?"
Rebecca placed another document on the table.
Four international travel consent forms.
Alexander's signature.
Forged again.
Destination Switzerland.
Traveling guardian Vanessa Santillan.
Departure date December twenty-sixth.
Alexander stared.
"That was two days after Christmas."
"Yes."
"But the school began in January."
"Yes."
He understood.
"She was going to take them before I knew."
Rebecca nodded.
Alexander's face hardened.
"What stopped her?"
"You came home early."
He looked toward the playroom.
Four voices argued cheerfully over crayons.
If he had arrived at nine as planned, would Vanessa already have moved them?
Perhaps she would have created another explanation.
The girls were asleep.
They were sick.
They were visiting someone.
A sick realization formed.
"Rebecca."
"Yes?"
"Why the party?"
She had been thinking the same thing.
"Cover."
"Noise. Guests. Cars."
"Possibly."
"If she planned to take them, she needed luggage."
Rebecca said nothing.
Alexander stood.
They searched Vanessa's dressing room.
Nothing.
Garage storage.
Nothing.
Guest rooms.
Nothing.
Then Sophie appeared.
"What are you looking for?"
Alexander hesitated.
"Suitcases."
She pointed toward the basement.
"Green ones?"
He stared.
"You saw green suitcases?"
"Vanessa told Brooke to put them downstairs."
"Who is Brooke?"
"Her sister."
Alexander had met Brooke Hart twice.
He thought she was living in California.
"When was she here?"
"The night before Christmas."
Alexander looked at Rebecca.
No guest record showed Brooke entering.
Camera 7 had been disabled that night.
They went downstairs.
Behind the wine storage room was a utility closet.
Four green children's suitcases sat inside.
Each had a name tag.
Valerie.
Camila.
Regina.
Sophie.
Alexander opened the first.
Clothing.
Medication.
A winter coat.
A photocopy of Valerie's birth certificate.
The second contained the same.
The third.
The fourth.
Then Rebecca found an envelope.
Cash.
Twenty thousand dollars.
And five airline tickets.
Vanessa.
Brooke.
Four children.
Rebecca counted again.
Six travelers.
Only five tickets.
"One girl is missing," she said.
Alexander took the tickets.
He checked the names.
Valerie.
Camila.
Regina.
Vanessa.
Brooke.
No Sophie.
May you like
His blood turned cold.
"Where was Sophie supposed to go?"
