Chapter 2 - The Midnight Ledger
By 11:00 PM, the mansion had settled into an uneasy truce. Vanessa had locked herself in the guest wing, claiming a severe migraine, while Marcus remained entombed in his home office behind double-thick mahogany doors.
Clara sat at the small wooden desk in her private quarters, a modest bedroom located just off the kitchen wing. She was supposed to be reviewing the organic grocery delivery manifests for the upcoming week, but her eyes kept drifting to her phone.
A quiet tap at her door broke her concentration.
She opened it to find Marcus. He had discarded his tailored blazer, his white dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar, his hair uncharacteristically disheveled. He looked less like a billionaire tycoon and more like a man who had been blindsided by a phantom punch.
"Clara," he said softly, holding a thick leather bound binder. "Do you have a moment?"
"Of course, Mr. Hale," Clara said, stepping back to let him enter.
"Please, just Marcus. Especially after today," he muttered, sitting on the small armchair near her window. He laid the binder open on his lap. "The fraud department sent over the full forensic breakdown of the early morning transactions. The ones that triggered the automated account freeze."
Clara remained standing, her hands clasped in front of her. "Did they trace the device, sir?"
"They did," Marcus said, his jaw tightening until the bone showed through his skin. "The unauthorized device that attempted a test withdrawal from a private account in Miami... it was a high-end encrypted tablet. The registration serial number belongs to a boutique interior design firm based out of Soho."
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Clara’s breath hitched. "Vanessa’s mother owns that firm."
"And the international charges were hotel bookings in Madrid," Marcus continued, his eyes turning to flint. "Under the name of Arthur Cole. Vanessa’s brother. They didn't just trigger a fraud alert, Clara. They were actively draining the secondary corporate line I opened for the wedding expenses. They thought I wouldn't notice a few hundred thousand missing before the automated month-end reconciliation."
