Chapter 5 - The House by the Water
My father’s investigator identified the house within two hours.
It stood behind cedar gates in East Hampton.
The property belonged to Northstar Advisory, a consulting company that had received more than twelve million dollars from NexusCore.
Northstar had no employees.
No public office.
No legitimate clients.
Lauren Thorne controlled it through her sister’s name.
The property tax notice I found in our mail had not been sent by mistake.
It had been sent by someone who wanted me to see it.
“The boy lives there?”
I asked.
“According to utility records, a nanny has been staying at the property for almost two years.”
My father placed a tablet on the hospital table.
A photograph showed Lauren carrying the child outside a pediatric clinic.
Beside her stood Matthew.
He wore sunglasses and a baseball cap.
The photograph had been taken fourteen months earlier.
The date was three days after our anniversary.
I remembered that weekend.
Matthew had sent lilies to the penthouse and claimed an investor crisis had forced him to fly to Boston.
I had eaten dinner alone.
“What is his full name?”
“Owen Matthew Thorne.”
The middle name cut deeper than I expected.
“Is he Matthew’s son?”
“We don’t know yet.”
I studied the child’s face.
He was innocent.
Whatever Matthew and Lauren had done, the boy had not chosen any of it.
“Who sent the photograph?”
“We traced the envelope to a courier.”
“The order was placed with cash.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Detective Ortiz entered with Noah Brenner.
NexusCore’s chief financial officer looked as though he had not slept.
His suit was wrinkled.
His eyes moved toward the bruises visible above my hospital gown.
“I’m sorry.”
He said.
“You knew?”
I asked.
“Not about this.”
His voice broke.
“I knew about the money.”
Noah handed Ortiz a small external drive.
“Matthew ordered me to classify Northstar payments as international development expenses.”
“I refused.”
“He threatened to report me for securities fraud using documents he had altered.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
“I tried.”
Noah looked at me.
“Three months ago, I sent the Hamptons property notice to your home.”
“You sent it?”
“I thought if you started asking questions, he would back down.”
“He didn’t.”
“No.”
Noah’s eyes filled with shame.
“He accelerated everything.”
He explained that Helix Crown’s acquisition would erase the internal records linking Matthew and Lauren to the missing money.
The closing documents required my signature because I remained an undisclosed co-creator of the core technology.
“What was he going to do after the sale?”
I asked.
Noah hesitated.
“Lauren booked three one-way tickets to the Cayman Islands.”
“Three?”
“Matthew.”
“Lauren.”
“And the child.”
My father rose from his chair.
“Where are they now?”
Noah looked toward Detective Ortiz.
“I received a message from Matthew twenty minutes ago.”
“He wants me to bring the original financial ledger to the Hamptons house.”
“And if you refuse?”
Noah placed his phone on the table.
The photograph on the screen showed his wife walking their daughter to school.
May you like
Beneath it was a message.
Then your family pays for Clare’s mistake.
