Chapter 7: The Room Behind the Ballroom
Sawyer bolted through the garage before the officer could catch his arm.
His car tore out of the driveway, leaving the door swinging behind him.
Dana called Evelyn.
“Lock the charity office and keep everyone away from the server room.”
“He has executive access,” Evelyn said.
“The locks may not stop him.”
“Then call the financial investigator assigned to the bank report.”
I knelt beside Eli.
“You’re staying with Denise.”
“No.
Dad said the account is mine.”
“That’s why you cannot be near him.”
Vanessa crouched in front of Eli.
“Your mother is right.
What your father did is not your fault.”
“You helped him.”
“I did.” Vanessa did not look away.
“And now I’m going to tell the truth, even if it costs me everything.”
At the charity office, Evelyn stood beside two investigators in the lobby.
A monitor showed Sawyer inside the server room, pulling cables from a cabinet.
Evelyn pressed the intercom.
“Sawyer, step away from the equipment.”
His face appeared on the security screen.
“You have no authority to lock me out.”
“The board voted five minutes ago.
You are suspended.”
“You cannot suspend the chief financial officer without notice.”
“We just did.”
He yanked another cable loose.
One investigator spoke into his radio while the other opened an emergency access panel.
Sawyer emerged carrying a laptop.
“This belongs to me.”
Evelyn held up an inventory sheet.
“It belongs to the charity.”
He saw me and laughed.
“You brought the whole audience back for a second performance.”
“You used charity accounts to move our money,” I said.
“Our money.”
“My mother’s trust and Eli’s savings were never yours.”
“I managed this family for eleven years while you signed whatever I put in front of you.”
“I didn’t sign those documents.”
“You can’t prove that.”
Vanessa walked in carrying the leather case.
“Yes, she can.”
Sawyer’s grip tightened around the laptop.
“You should be careful, Vanessa.”
“I found the blank pages you had me witness.
I also found the file where you copied her signature.”
“You created those files.”
“The metadata shows your office computer and your login.”
He looked at the investigators.
“She is trying to save herself.”
Vanessa nodded.
“I am.
By admitting what I did.”
She placed her phone on the counter and played a message.
Sawyer’s recorded voice filled the lobby.
“Use Patricia’s old seal.
Nobody checks retired notaries.”
Sawyer moved toward her.
An investigator stepped between them.
“Put the laptop down, sir.”
“I want my attorney.”
“You may call one after you surrender the device.”
Sawyer looked at me.
“Tell them this was a marital dispute.
I’ll withdraw the custody petition and return the house.”
“You offered me half of my own inheritance last night.”
“I’m offering your son his father.”
Eli’s voice came from the lobby entrance.
“A father doesn’t use his kid’s name to hide money.”
Denise stood behind him, one hand on his shoulder.
“I told you to keep him away,” I said.
“He saw Sawyer’s car and refused to stay in mine,” Denise replied.
Sawyer opened his arms.
“Eli, tell these people your mother made you record me.”
“She didn’t know.”
“You don’t understand what happens if they take me away.”
Eli’s eyes filled.
“Did you understand what would happen when you tried to take Mom away?”
Sawyer lowered his arms.
The investigator removed the laptop from his hands.
“Sawyer Hayes, you are being detained while we execute the financial warrant.”
Evelyn unclipped Sawyer’s charity badge.
“The board has terminated you for cause.
Your access ends now.”
“You’ll regret humiliating me,” Sawyer told her.
“No,” Evelyn said.
“I regret trusting you.”
The investigator turned Sawyer toward the exit.
He looked at me one last time.
“When this collapses, don’t expect me to come home and rescue you.”
I held Eli against my side.
“There is no home waiting for you.”
As Sawyer was escorted through the doors, another investigator opened the laptop.
He studied the account list, then motioned Dana over.
“What is it?” I asked.
Dana’s eyes moved to Eli.
“The final account wasn’t merely opened for him.”
May you like
She turned the screen toward me.
“Sawyer opened it in Eli’s name.”
