Chapter 6 - THE MONEY BEHIND THE MONEY
The letter from Victoria sat on our kitchen table for almost an hour before I finally opened it.
Daniel stood beside me.
He didn't touch the envelope.
Neither of us knew what to expect.
I unfolded the first page.
Victoria's handwriting was unmistakable.
Elena,
I owe you the truth.
The money your family gave the Caldwells did not simply disappear into the company.
A large portion was transferred years ago.
I was told it was for an investment.
I now believe it was used to protect someone.
I found the records after the estate was sold.
There is an account.
The beneficiary is not Daniel.
It is not me.
It is someone whose identity I did not recognize.
Ask your father about the name Alexander Vale.
I stopped reading.
Daniel looked at me.
“Who is Alexander Vale?”
“I don't know.”
We called my father immediately.
He answered from his office.
“Elena?”
“Dad, do you know someone named Alexander Vale?”
Silence.
Long enough for my stomach to tighten.
Finally he said:
“Where did you hear that name?”
“From Victoria.”
Another silence.
“Dad?”
“You shouldn't be involved in this.”
Daniel stepped toward the phone.
“Sir, what is happening?”
My father sighed.
“Twenty years ago, the Caldwells approached me.”
“For what?”
“Funding.”
“We were struggling.”
“I provided capital.”
“I know.”
“But there was another agreement.”
“What agreement?”
“A private investment.”
I stared at Daniel.
“What was the investment?”
My father answered quietly.
“A company called Vale Biomedical.”
“Who owned it?”
“Alexander Vale.”
I swallowed.
“Why would the Caldwells receive money to invest in another company?”
“They didn't.”
“What?”
“They were supposed to hold it temporarily.”
Daniel frowned.
“Hold it for whom?”
My father hesitated.
“An estate.”
“What estate?”
“The Vale family estate.”
I felt a chill.
“Why?”
“Because Alexander Vale was missing.”
“Missing?”
“Yes.”
“Was he dead?”
“No one knew.”
The room became silent.
My father continued.
“The money was supposed to remain untouched until his status was resolved.”
I looked at Victoria's letter.
“But she says the beneficiary is still there.”
“Yes.”
“Then someone moved the money.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
My father didn't answer.
“Dad.”
Finally:
“Your husband's father.”
Daniel froze.
“My father?”
“Your family accepted the money and moved it into Caldwell accounts.”
“Then who benefited?”
“That is what I never discovered.”
My father's voice became quieter.
“And now you must leave it alone.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Elena.”
“This money came from our family.”
“It was used to support the Caldwell empire.”
“And now they have lost everything.”
I looked at Daniel.
“But if someone stole it…”
“We have to know.”
My father sighed.
“I knew you would say that.”
“Do you have the records?”
“Yes.”
“Send them.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because someone tried to kill me over them.”
My blood ran cold.
“Dad?”
He ended the call.
Daniel immediately reached for his phone.
“I'll call him back.”
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Then an unknown number called my phone.
I answered.
A man's voice said:
“Stop asking questions about Alexander Vale.”
I froze.
“Who are you?”
“If you continue, your father won't be the only person who gets hurt.”
The line went dead.
Daniel stared at me.
“What did he say?”
I told him.
He immediately called security.
Then he looked at me.
“We're going to your father's office.”
We drove there.
The office was empty.
His assistant was gone.
The lights were on.
The door was unlocked.
But my father's desk was untouched.
Except for one thing.
A photograph.
It showed my father, Daniel's father, and a third man.
Alexander Vale.
Alive.
Standing beside them.
The date was twenty-two years earlier.
I looked at Daniel.
“Alexander wasn't missing.”
“No.”
“He was hiding.”
“From whom?”
I turned the photograph over.
May you like
On the back was one sentence.
He was protecting his daughter.
