Chapter 6 - Shadows of the Past
Three days later, Maya was transferred to a private, secured rehabilitation facility outside the city limits. Her physical wounds were beginning to heal, but the psychological scars ran deep. Every sudden sound made her flinch; every shadow in the hallway made her clutch her blankets to her chest.
I sat in the armchair beside her bed, my laptop resting on my knees, reviewing the financial audit that my team had conducted over the weekend.
"Claire?" Maya asked softly, turning her bandaged face toward me.
"I'm right here, sweetie."
"Is Mom... is she coming here?"
I set the laptop aside and reached out to take her hand. "Mom is under a strict court order, Maya. She can't come within a thousand feet of you. And yesterday, the grand jury indicted Daniel on seven felony counts. He's being held without bail at the county jail."
Maya let out a long, shuddering breath, her eyes brimming with tears. "I was so scared, Claire. For months, every time you called, he stood in the doorway watching me. He told me if I said anything to you, he'd make sure I was put in a state institution and that you'd never be allowed to visit me."
"He was lying," I said fiercely. "He had no power over you. He was just a pathetic coward stealing your life to pay for his failed vanity projects."
"What kind of projects?" she asked.
I pulled up a document on my screen. "Over the past four years, Daniel diverted over $200,000 from your trust fund and your state disability allowance. He used it to buy property in the north county—under a company named Vance Investments. But that's not all."
I paused, looking at her gently. "Maya... did Daniel ever bring strangers into the house? People in suits, or men who stayed in his office for hours?"
Maya frowned, thinking back. "Yes. Last winter. A man named Mr. Carver came by a lot. Daniel said they were setting up a private healthcare consulting business."
My eyes narrowed. "Carver. As in Richard Carver?"
"I think so. Why?"
Richard Carver was a disgraced former state official who had been ousted three years ago for selling fraudulent medical supply contracts to private care homes.
The picture was finally completing itself. Daniel wasn't just stealing Maya's money for himself. He was part of a broader, organized network that was siphoning millions of dollars from state disability funds through ghost shell companies. Maya's account wasn't just a convenient target; it was the test case he used to prove to Carver that he could launder state funds without triggering red flags.
May you like
"Claire?" Maya looked at me, seeing the sharp, calculating look in my eyes. "What is it?"
"It means Daniel isn't just going down for hurting you," I said, a grim, triumphant smile touching my lips. "He just opened the door to a federal racketeering investigation. He thought he was playing a small game in a small town. He has no idea who he just picked a fight with."
