Chapter 10 - The Number Philippa Couldn't Explain
We found the missing account three days later.
It wasn't in Philippa's name.
It wasn't in Alexander's.
It belonged to a company registered in Delaware.
The company had no employees.
No office.
No legitimate business activity.
But it had received nearly three million dollars from Isla's trust.
Evelyn traced the company.
Then she stopped.
“What?”
She looked at me.
“Philippa isn't the only owner.”
“Who else?”
She turned the screen around.
My heart sank.
Alexander Hartwell.
I stared at the name.
“No.”
Evelyn nodded.
“It was created using his identity.”
“Did he know?”
“We need to ask him.”
Alexander arrived that evening.
Evelyn confronted him.
He looked at the documents.
Then he whispered:
“I've never seen this.”
“Did you ever sign incorporation paperwork?”
“No.”
“Did your mother ever ask you to provide a digital signature?”
He looked horrified.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“Why?”
“She said it was for an estate investment.”
Evelyn leaned back.
“She used your identity.”
Alexander covered his face.
“She ruined my life.”
“No,” I said.
He looked at me.
“She endangered our daughter's future.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
Then something unexpected happened.
Alexander took out his phone.
“I have something.”
He opened an old email.
It was from Philippa.
The subject line read:
For your records.
Attached was a PDF.
Inside was a financial statement.
The company had received three million dollars.
But there was another line.
A transfer.
Nearly the entire amount had gone somewhere else.
To a private account in Switzerland.
Evelyn stood immediately.
“That's the account.”
I looked at her.
“The missing money?”
“Yes.”
“Can we get it back?”
She shook her head.
“Not easily.”
Then Alexander whispered:
“Mom has a passport.”
May you like
“What?”
“She planned to leave.”
