Chapter 4 - THE COMPANY ACCOUNT
Jenna met Sophie and Naomi at a twenty-four-hour diner near Willow Lawn.
She arrived without makeup, wearing the navy dress from the wedding beneath an old raincoat. Her place card was still tucked inside her purse.
Jenna had worked as Dalton Custom Homes’ bookkeeper since their father’s heart attack two years earlier. Mark handled sales, development, and relationships with lenders. Evelyn remained majority owner, though she rarely entered the office.
Sophie slid into the booth across from her.
“Where did the money go?”
Jenna placed a printed account ledger on the table.
“The transfer reached Dalton’s operating account at 8:06. At 8:19, Mark moved forty-five thousand into another company.”
“Which company?”
“Riverfront Foundry LLC.”
Sophie had heard the name once. Mark described it as a possible redevelopment project near Manchester, where old industrial buildings were being converted into offices and apartments.
“I thought Dalton decided not to pursue that property.”
“Dalton did.”
Jenna rubbed her thumb against a coffee stain on the ledger.
“Mark didn’t.”
Riverfront Foundry belonged entirely to Mark. He had placed a nonrefundable deposit on an old warehouse and expected an investment group to fund the purchase. The investors withdrew after an environmental report found contaminated soil.
Mark lost the deposit and borrowed money from Dalton Custom Homes to keep the contract alive.
“How much?” Sophie asked.
“Ninety-two thousand.”
Naomi stopped stirring her coffee.
Jenna continued. “He told Mom the money was tied up in two delayed construction draws. He told me to code it as a temporary project advance.”
“And the bridge loan?”
“It would repay Dalton, cover the next warehouse deposit, and make payroll for six weeks.”
“Using my condo as security.”
Jenna nodded.
“Did your mother know?”
“She knew Mark wanted you to guarantee something. He told her you’d already agreed but were threatening to withdraw unless she gave up voting control of Dalton.”
Sophie stared at her.
“I’ve never asked for control of the company.”
“I know that now.”
Evelyn’s words from the recording returned.
Joining this family doesn’t mean taking my place.
Mark had told each woman a different version of the same crisis.
To Sophie, Evelyn was blocking a simple rescue loan because she was proud.
To Evelyn, Sophie was using her money to seize the business.
To Jenna, the debt was temporary and fully disclosed.
Mark had kept them fighting over motives while he moved money between accounts.
“Why are you telling me this?” Sophie asked.
Jenna looked toward the dark window.
“Because he told me to backdate a reimbursement invoice on Thursday. I refused. This morning, it appeared in the system under my login.”
“Can you prove you didn’t enter it?”
“Our software tracks devices. It came from Mark’s laptop.”
Sophie photographed the ledger.
Jenna pulled it back slightly. “You can’t publish this. There are eighteen employees who don’t know how close payroll is.”
“I’m not trying to hurt them.”
“Freezing the wedding account may already have stopped a supplier payment.”
“That money wasn’t his to transfer.”
“I know.”
But Jenna’s voice carried something more complicated than agreement. Fear had entered the booth with her.
If Sophie exposed Mark, the company might fail.
If she stayed quiet, Mark could reach her condo.
Sophie’s phone buzzed with a message from Mark.
Come home. We can fix the account before anyone gets hurt.
A second message followed.
Jenna doesn’t understand development finance. Don’t let her panic you.
Sophie showed it to Jenna.
Jenna read the words twice.
“He knows I’m here,” she said.
May you like
Across the parking lot, a navy sedan idled beneath a broken streetlight.
It was Mark’s car.
