Chapter 9 - The Mastermind UnmaskedWhile waiting for Daniel's arrival, Arthur Vance's team continued their forensic audit of the estate's physical security and digital records.
By 2:00 PM, Arthur walked back into my study carrying a black USB drive and a stack of printed financial logs.
"Ms. Bennett," Arthur said, shutting the study door behind him. "We managed to mirror the local cache from the laptop Nicole left behind in the guest suite. You need to see this."
He plugged the drive into my monitor. A series of archived chat logs and email threads popped up on the screen.
I leaned forward, scanning the messages.
The chat logs weren't just between Nicole and her friends. They were between Nicole and her mother, Diane.
Diane (11 months ago): Did you make the transfer today? Make sure it stays under $40k so the automated flag doesn't trigger.
Nicole (11 months ago): Done. Wired $35k to the shell account. Lauren is so busy with her trades she never checks the secondary buffer.
Diane (11 months ago): Good. We need to clear the debt on my San Diego condo before Daniel's audit next quarter. Keep routing it through your merchant account.
My hands gripped the edge of the desk.
It wasn't just Nicole acting on a spoiled whim. Diane was directing her. Diane had known about the buffer account from the beginning, using her daughter as a front to steal nearly half a million dollars to cover her own personal debts, luxury lifestyle, and bad investments—all while living under my roof and eating my food.
And then I saw a third name in the email thread.
Nicole (3 months ago): Daniel says Lauren is updating her trust agreement next month. We need to transfer the rest before she changes the access keys.
May you like
I froze.
Daniel's name was right there in the text.
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