Chapter 6
The independent accountant found fourteen suspicious reimbursements.
Not all were Wellington.
Three vendors appeared legitimate until their mailing addresses were compared.
All routed through the same accounting service.
The total was just over $380,000.
Dante could afford the number.
That made it no less serious.
It was Ava’s money.
More importantly, it was Ava’s name.
Claire arranged for the trustee to suspend reimbursements connected to Celeste pending review.
Dante signed immediately.
Then he did something harder.
He suspended himself too.
Until the audit finished, neither Dante nor Celeste could approve extraordinary distributions.
An independent fiduciary would review them.
Claire looked surprised.
“You’re giving up authority you don’t have to give up.”
“For now.”
“Why?”
“Because if I investigate my wife while keeping my own access untouched, everyone in the room knows who I expect the conclusion to favor.”
Claire nodded slowly.
“That’s annoyingly responsible.”
“Don’t spread it around.”
The audit uncovered a second pattern.
After several suspicious reimbursements, Marcus received something useful.
Not always money.
Once, a property acquisition his side company wanted was suddenly shared with him before the wider family board saw it.
Another time, he received confidential pricing on a logistics contract.
Twice, Celeste persuaded Dante to invite Marcus into meetings he had previously been excluded from.
Dante remembered those conversations.
Celeste always framed them as family reconciliation.
He’s your brother. Stop punishing him for disagreeing with you.
At the time, Dante considered it compassionate.
Now he wondered whether those arguments had been purchased.
Marcus denied everything except receiving the advantages.
“I didn’t ask her to manipulate you.”
“Then why did she?”
Marcus looked away.
Dante stepped closer.
“Because you knew about the invoices?”
Marcus said nothing.
That silence gave Dante his answer.
“You knew she was taking money connected to Ava.”
Marcus finally looked at him.
“I knew something was wrong.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I was trying to understand it.”
“For seven months?”
“Dante.”
“You watched money leave my daughter’s trust and decided the responsible thing was private meetings in my bedroom wing?”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“It wasn’t your bedroom.”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
Marcus rubbed his face.
“I never touched Celeste.”
Dante believed him more now.
That did not improve the situation.
“What did you do?”
Marcus looked at him for a long time.
Then said:
“Something I’m not proud of.”
Dante waited.
Marcus shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Dante almost struck him again.
May you like
Instead, he walked away.
Because every time someone in the family said not yet, the truth grew more expensive.
