Chapter 5 - The Financial Forensics
Forty-eight hours after the arrests, the morning sun poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Vance & Mercer Financial Asset Management building in downtown.
I sat at the head of a long glass conference table. Beside me sat Mom, dressed in a sharp maroon suit, her white hair neatly styled, looking every bit the formidable, sharp ER nurse she had always been. Across from us sat Marcus Vance—Major Vance’s brother and the state’s premier forensic financial investigator.
"The extent of the fraud was staggering, Mrs. Mercer," Marcus said, sliding a thick, red-stamped binder across the polished glass to my mother. "Over the six months Daniel was deployed, Rachel and Cole systematically liquidated four of your secondary certificates of deposit, totaling three hundred and forty thousand dollars."
Mom opened the binder, her sharp eyes scanning the column items with terrifying speed. "They forged my signature on the power-of-attorney documents using a corrupt notary public."
"Precisely," Marcus nodded. "We located the notary yesterday—a man named Gerald Hayes. He’s currently in county custody, cooperating fully with prosecutors in exchange for a reduced sentence. He admitted Rachel paid him five thousand dollars cash to notarize the real estate transfer papers for your home."
I leaned forward, tapping my finger on the table. "What about the trust account? The $1.2 million?"
Marcus smiled—a cold, sharp glint in his eye. "Intercepted. Because Daniel activated the emergency military freeze protocol the night he landed, the electronic wire transfer to Cole’s offshore account in Nevis was flagged and blocked by the Treasury Department. Every single cent of the trust money is completely intact."
Mom let out a long, quiet sigh, her hand reaching over to squeeze mine tightly. "What about my house, Marcus?"
"The deed transfer was declared null and void by Judge Harrison this morning under the Fraudulent Conveyance Act," Marcus replied smoothly. "The locks have been changed. The property is officially back in your name. Furthermore, the district attorney has filed a civil forfeiture petition against Rachel and Cole's personal assets."
"Meaning?" I asked.
"Meaning Rachel’s luxury sports car, her private bank accounts, and Cole’s equity in his condo are being seized by the state to pay full restitution for the money they did manage to spend," Marcus explained. "Your mother won't lose a single dime, Daniel. In fact, after the civil settlement clears, she’ll be wealthier than before they tried to rob her."
Mom set the file down, looking at Marcus, then turning to look at me. The bruises on her wrists were fading, replaced by the natural, glowing vitality of a woman who had reclaimed her life.
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"They thought because I was old, I was easy prey," Mom said softly, her voice steady as iron. "They thought a woman’s silence could be bought with a few bruises and a poisoned cup of tea."
"They picked the wrong woman, Mom," I said gently. "And they picked the wrong soldier's mother."
