Chapter 13 - WHY HE NEEDED THE PARTY
Rachel obtained the hotel records the following morning.
Daniel had requested a private conference suite adjacent to the ballroom.
Jennifer had never known.
The suite was booked from noon until 3:00 p.m.
The baptism began at 3:30.
Rachel placed the reservation confirmation on the table.
“Who was in there?”
Jennifer asked.
“We’re getting security footage.”
At noon, the hotel released it.
Daniel entered the conference room three times.
So did Eric Dalton.
Two bankers.
A real estate investor named Martin Shaw.
And Daniel’s employer, Mark.
Jennifer frowned.
“Mark?”
Rachel nodded.
“Your husband may have been using the party to host business meetings before the baptism.”
Jennifer remembered Daniel’s obsession with appearances.
The ballroom.
The guest list.
The expensive decorations.
He had needed to look successful.
Stable.
Wealthy.
Family-oriented.
Rachel continued.
“Martin Shaw invested in Redwood Family Holdings.”
Jennifer stared.
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand dollars.”
“Why?”
“He believed Redwood was developing residential properties.”
Jennifer thought of Chloe’s townhouse.
“One house?”
“Apparently Daniel presented plans for six.”
Jennifer laughed once.
There were no six houses.
There was barely one.
Rachel nodded.
“That’s the problem.”
Jennifer understood.
The baptism party had been a credibility performance.
Daniel had surrounded himself with family and prominent guests because he needed investors to believe he was stable.
Successful.
Safe.
Lily had been marketing material.
Jennifer felt physically sick.
“He used our daughter.”
Rachel’s voice softened.
“Yes.”
The conference footage showed Daniel shaking hands with Martin.
Then handing him a folder.
An hour later, Martin wired another seventy-five thousand dollars to Redwood.
Jennifer stared at the bank confirmation.
“That’s why he needed the party.”
Rachel nodded.
“The outstanding hotel bill wasn’t the real expense.”
“It was the stage.”
Jennifer remembered Daniel publicly thanking her.
Giving him the greatest gift of his life.
The perfect wife.
The perfect baby.
The perfect family.
All presented to men he wanted money from.
Then Mark called.
He had another piece.
Daniel had also told investors that Reynolds Care Foundation would guarantee certain development projects.
His father had never authorized that.
Jennifer closed her eyes.
The family charity.
The forged signatures.
The property.
The insurance policy.
The affair.
It was all connected by one thing.
Daniel needed money constantly.
More than the lifestyle could explain.
Jennifer asked Rachel.
“Where did all of it go?”
Rachel looked at the financial map on her laptop.
“That is still the biggest question.”
Hundreds of thousands had moved through Daniel’s accounts.
But only a fraction went to Chloe.
A fraction went to the townhouse.
Where was the rest?
That answer came at 4:12 p.m.
Martin Shaw called Rachel directly.
He had received an anonymous email.
Inside was a spreadsheet Daniel had apparently created.
One column was labeled INVESTORS.
Another was labeled RETURNS.
A third column was labeled OLD MONEY.
Rachel stared at it.
Jennifer understood before she explained.
Daniel had been using new investor money to repay earlier investors.
The townhouse project was not merely irresponsible.
It was part of a fraud.
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And Daniel had used his daughter’s baptism to bring in fresh money hours before everything collapsed.
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