Chapter 4: The Money Meant for a Missing Girl
For several seconds after Richard Whitmore left, Lily didn't move.
She stood beside the hotel room's marble table, staring at the document her biological grandfather had left behind.
Adrian remained near the door.
Neither of them seemed willing to speak first.
Finally, Lily pointed at the briefcase-shaped shadow Richard's departure had left in the room.
"Was he telling the truth?""
Adrian loosened his tie.
"About what?""
"Don't do that.""
He looked at her.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm asking. Did you receive money that belonged to me?""
Adrian glanced toward the document.
"I didn't know about it.""
"That's not an answer.""
"No, Lily. I never received money knowing it was yours.""
She folded her arms.
"But it was transferred into an account under your name.""
"I heard him say that.""
"And you didn't know?""
Adrian shook his head.
"Not until tonight.""
Lily laughed bitterly.
"Must be nice.""
"What?""
"Finding out you've been rich your entire life, even richer than you thought, while the person that money belonged to was sleeping outside a subway station.""
Adrian absorbed the words without defending himself.
They hurt because they were true.
Not because he had deliberately taken anything from her, but because he had lived comfortably while the person he had spent twenty-three years mourning had been struggling to survive.
He walked toward the table.
"Let me call Daniel.""
"Your lawyer?""
"Yes. He can verify the financial records.""
"And if he says your father is right?""
"Then we'll find out exactly what happened.""
Lily looked away.
"You keep saying we'll.""
Adrian stopped.
"You're right. I shouldn't assume you want to be involved.""
"I don't want your money.""
"I didn't offer you money.""
"You brought me into a salon, bought me clothes, and put me in a hotel suite. What do you call that?""
"Trying to make sure you're safe.""
She looked at him for a long moment.
Then she quietly asked, "Why?""
Adrian's expression changed.
"Because when I was sixteen, my little sister asked me not to leave her alone. I told her I'd come back after dinner.""
He swallowed.
"I didn't.""
Lily's anger faltered.
Adrian looked down at his hands.
"I spent years wishing I could have one more conversation with her. One more chance to tell her I'd come back. Then I walked into that salon and saw your birthmark.""
He looked up.
"I don't know whether you're Charlotte. I don't know what your mother was involved in. But if there's even a chance you're my sister, I won't walk away.""
Lily stared at him.
For a moment, she looked as though she might cry.
Instead, she picked up the document.
"Find out about the money.""
Adrian nodded.
"Tonight.""
Daniel Mercer arrived twenty-five minutes later carrying a laptop and a thick folder.
He was a tall, narrow-faced man in his late forties who had represented the Whitmore family for nearly fifteen years.
He greeted Adrian, then glanced at Lily.
"Miss Ellis.""
"Lily.""
"Of course.""
Adrian pointed toward the dining table.
"Show us the trust records.""
Daniel opened his laptop.
"The Whitmore family trust was established by your grandfather. It provided equal inheritance provisions for you and Charlotte.""
He brought up a scanned document.
"Following Charlotte's disappearance, your father instructed the family trustees to amend the distribution schedule.""
"How much was transferred?"" Adrian asked.
Daniel adjusted his glasses.
"Approximately forty-two million dollars in today's valuation.""
Lily stared at him.
"Forty-two million?""
Daniel nodded.
"Originally, the funds were placed in a protected account for Charlotte. The amendment redirected the assets into a discretionary trust.""
"Whose trust?"" Adrian asked.
Daniel hesitated.
"Yours.""
Silence.
Adrian looked at the screen.
"Who authorized it?""
"Your father.""
"And who signed the acceptance?""
Daniel turned the laptop slightly.
Adrian read the name.
His own.
He leaned closer.
"That's not my signature.""
Daniel frowned.
"Excuse me?""
"I never signed this.""
The lawyer enlarged the document.
The signature was remarkably similar to Adrian's handwriting.
But Adrian recognized the difference.
His middle name was missing from the signature.
He had always signed legal documents as Adrian James Whitmore.
The document read only Adrian Whitmore.
"Someone forged my signature," Adrian said.
Daniel examined the page.
"That would be a serious allegation.""
"Then investigate it.""
"I will.""
Adrian pointed to another line.
"What happened to the money afterward?""
Daniel clicked through several records.
"The trust was dissolved seven years ago. The funds were distributed to a company called Northbridge Holdings.""
"Who owns it?""
"That's what I'm trying to establish.""
Lily leaned forward.
"Can you find out?""
Daniel looked at her.
"Yes, but it may take some time.""
Adrian's phone vibrated.
An incoming call appeared.
*RICHARD WHITMORE.*
He answered.
"Father.""
Richard's voice came through immediately.
"Have you finished entertaining your little guest?""
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Don't speak about her that way.""
"You're making a fool of yourself.""
"You forged my signature.""
A pause.
Then Richard laughed.
"Be careful with accusations, son.""
"I want the original trust documents.""
"You have no idea what you're involving yourself in.""
"Then explain it.""
Richard's voice dropped.
"Some things were done because your mother couldn't accept reality. Some things were done because you were too young to understand.""
"Where did Charlotte's money go?""
"That money kept this family together.""
Adrian stood.
"That's not an answer.""
"You're confusing a sentimental obsession with a legal matter.""
Adrian looked at Lily.
She was watching him, her face pale.
"Was Charlotte alive when the trust was changed?""
Richard said nothing.
"Father. Was she alive?""
"Good night, Adrian.""
The call ended.
Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
Lily whispered, "He knows.""
Adrian nodded.
"Yes.""
Daniel closed his laptop.
"There's something else you should see.""
He removed a small envelope from his folder.
"I found this in the estate's archived correspondence. It was never entered into the official investigation file.""
Adrian took it.
The envelope had been addressed to Eleanor Whitmore.
There was no return address.
Inside was a short handwritten note.
The child is safe. Do not contact Margaret again. If Richard discovers the arrangement, neither of you will survive what comes next.
At the bottom was a single initial.
*R.*
Lily stared at it.
"Richard?""
Daniel shook his head.
"Not necessarily. The handwriting is unfamiliar.""
Adrian turned the note over.
There was another sentence written on the back.
Ask the groundskeeper what happened at the east gate.
Adrian looked up.
"The groundskeeper?""
Daniel nodded.
"According to the estate records, the man responsible for the grounds on the night Charlotte disappeared was named Samuel Brooks.""
Adrian remembered him.
Samuel had worked at Whitmore House for nearly thirty years.
He had retired shortly after Charlotte disappeared.
And then, without explanation, he had moved away.
"Where is he now?"" Adrian asked.
Daniel closed the folder.
"That is what I was hoping you would tell me.""
Adrian frowned.
"Why?""
"Because I found something else in the records.""
Daniel turned his laptop around.
A scanned retirement payment appeared on the screen.
It was made to Samuel Brooks.
The payment was dated six months after Charlotte's disappearance.
The amount was extraordinary.
May you like
One million dollars.
And the authorization carried Richard Whitmore's signature.
