Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the Clean Books
Victor arrived the following morning wearing a gray suit and carrying no papers.
Adrian noticed the omission.
For fifteen years, Victor had brought a folder to every meeting.
A folder created the impression that facts accompanied him.
Today, he relied on familiarity.
“Grace Bennett has been through a difficult time,” he began.
Adrian remained seated.
“That wasn’t my question.”
“There were complications.”
“With transferring money?”
“With liability.”
Evelyn sat beside the conference table.
Victor looked at her, then back at Adrian.
“I assumed this was an internal conversation.”
“It is,” she said. “I represent Mr. Vale.”
Victor adjusted his cuff.
He described administrative expenses.
Insurance offsets.
Budget reallocations.
He spoke for seven minutes without naming the account that received the money.
Adrian let him finish.
Then Evelyn placed the transfer record on the table.
“Who controls this company?”
Victor’s expression barely changed.
“A consulting partner.”
“Who controls it?”
“Several investors.”
Evelyn slid over the corporate registration.
Victor’s brother-in-law appeared as the director.
The silence lasted long enough to become an answer.
Adrian leaned forward.
“Did the families receive the assistance I authorized?”
Victor looked at him.
Then something cold entered his expression.
“Are we really doing this?”
Adrian said nothing.
“You want to become offended by questionable bookkeeping?”
Evelyn spoke quietly.
“You should obtain independent counsel.”
Victor laughed once.
“Excellent advice.”
He stood.
At the door, he turned.
“You’re standing in a glass house, Adrian. Be careful where you throw your conscience.”
After he left, the office seemed larger.
Adrian looked toward Evelyn.
“He’s right about the glass.”
“Yes.”
For years, she had urged him to reduce his involvement in the illicit operations surrounding his legitimate businesses.
He had made promises.
Moved slowly.
Confused distance with innocence.
Now stolen family benefits sat on the table beside evidence of property manipulation.
He could not pretend the rot existed only in Victor.
“What happens if we investigate everything?” he asked.
Evelyn studied him.
“You may expose your own criminal conduct.”
“What happens if we don’t?”
“More people may be harmed.”
There it was.
No comfortable version.
No donation large enough to create one.
Adrian looked out at the driveway.
The Rolls-Royce stood beneath a protective cover.
An orange pumpkin remained visible near the wheel.
He thought of Eli’s paper.
When you’re feeling better.
A dead father’s promise carried into a driveway by five children who had no idea what kind of man they were asking to keep it.
“Everything,” he said.
Evelyn did not congratulate him.
She began making calls.
An independent accounting firm was retained.
Relevant records were preserved.
Victor’s access to financial systems was suspended through the proper corporate process.
The redevelopment affecting Grace’s building was paused pending review.
That last decision could be made quickly.
The rest would take longer.
When Adrian told Grace, she listened without thanking him.
“Are the tenants safe for now?”
“Yes.”
“Put it in writing.”
“I will.”
“And the money for Thomas?”
“An independent administrator will review all affected families.”
“All of them?”
“All of them.”
She nodded.
Only then did her shoulders lower slightly.
Adrian glanced toward Eli’s closed door.
“How is he?”
“Tired. Annoyed that hospital pudding doesn’t qualify as a full meal.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“He wants to know whether the car is still orange.”
“Parts of it.”
Grace smiled.
Then her expression grew serious.
“You should understand something.”
He waited.
“If you help us, that doesn’t mean I stop asking questions about who you are.”
“I understand.”
“I’m not sure you do.”
He considered arguing.
Then stopped.
“Perhaps not yet.”
That evening, Nora found him in the garage.
The detailer had removed the pumpkins.
A faint outline remained where June’s enthusiastic glue had touched the protective covering.
“Your wife would have laughed,” Nora said.
Adrian touched the edge of the hood.
“Sofia would have handed them better supplies.”
“She also would have asked why children knew more about keeping promises than you did.”
He looked at her.
Nora had served in his household for twenty-two years.
She had earned the right to be unimpressed.
“I’m trying to correct that.”
“Good.”
She turned to leave.
Then paused.
“Trying is a start. Don’t make it your final product.”
His phone vibrated.
A message from Victor.
Ask your lawyer what happens when the investigators stop looking at me and start looking at you.
Adrian read it.
May you like
Then forwarded it to Evelyn.
For once, he did not delete the thing that frightened him.
