Chapter 6 - The Account at Address 4B
The words hung in the humid air of the Sunset Palms courtyard like a physical blow. David stumbled backward, his bare feet slipping slightly on the wet concrete before he caught his balance against the metal railing of a lounge chair. His face went completely pale, his mouth opening and closing as if he were trying to gulp down air that suddenly refused to enter his lungs.
“What... what did you say?” David stammered, his voice cracking violently. “My address? That’s impossible. I’ve lived in unit 4B for five years. I’m just an accountant! I don't know anything about wire transfers or development bribes!”
Evelyn stopped thrashing in the water, her frantic movements ceasing entirely as a cold, hollow look washed over her face. The color drained completely from her mottled crimson cheeks, leaving her looking remarkably aged under the glaring midday sun. She stared at David with a mixture of terror and betrayal, realizing that the net Maya had cast was far wider, and far more targeted, than she had ever imagined.
Marcus stepped forward, his expression severe as he pulled a small digital tablet from his inner jacket pocket, tapping the screen with a dry finger to call up a secure financial ledger. He turned the screen outward so David could see the glowing data.
“Unit 4B, Sunset Palms. Account number ending in 8842,” Marcus read aloud, his voice flat and unforgiving. “A lump sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars was deposited into this account exactly three years ago, on the exact date the Sunset Palms safety permits were forcefully greenlit. The account was opened using a secondary power of attorney.”
David stared at the glowing tablet screen, his eyes wide with horror as he recognized the banking routing numbers. His knees buckled slightly, forcing him to grip the edge of a striped pool umbrella for support.
“I didn't open that account,” David breathed, shaking his head frantically as tears welled in his eyes. “I swear to God, I never saw that money! My finances are audited every single year by my firm—someone must have stolen my identity, someone must have used my social security number!”
Maya slowly crouched down by the edge of the pool, bringing herself eye-level with Evelyn while keeping a peripheral watch on David. The wet dark blue fabric of her swimsuit stretched tightly across her shoulders as she leaned in close to the water’s edge.
“Identity theft is a very convenient excuse, David,” Maya said softly, her tone dangerously calm. “Especially when the power of attorney form was signed by hand, using a specific notarized stamp registered exclusively to the property board treasurer.”
Maya slowly turned her gaze from David back to Evelyn, who was now trembling visibly in the chilly pool water, her pink bikini straps slipping off her shoulders.
“And the current treasurer of Sunset Palms,” Maya continued, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper, “has been Evelyn for the last seven years.”
Evelyn’s lower lip quivered. She opened her mouth to deny it, to scream, to lash out as she had done when Maya first sat by the water, but no words came out. She simply stared at the shimmering surface of the pool, defeated.
May you like
Before David could defend himself further, or before Marcus could place either of them under formal arrest, the heavy security gate swung open again with a loud, metallic clatter, revealing a figure neither of them expected to see standing in the courtyard.
---
