Chapter 7 - THE PATTERN BEHIND THE RESCUE
Carolina Trade Services had never existed as an independent vendor.
That was Lena's conclusion after two days of records.
The name appeared on Cole House books seven times between September 2017 and January 2018.
Total payments: $74,600.
The bank routing number led to an account controlled by Grant.
Avery sat across from the forensic accountant her attorney had recommended.
“No accusation until we know the source entries,” he said.
His name was Eric Salazar. He spoke slowly, which Avery first interpreted as condescension and then recognized as discipline.
“Could those have been reimbursements?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“We're reconstructing that.”
“Could my mother have entered them?”
“Yes.”
“Could Grant?”
“If he had access to the accounting credentials.”
“He did.”
Eric nodded.
“Then we determine what happened rather than choosing the version we prefer.”
Avery liked him immediately and wished she didn't.
By Friday, they had an answer.
Some payments were legitimate reimbursements for freight, deposits and travel Grant had fronted personally.
Approximately $29,000.
The remaining $45,000 had no corresponding invoice.
Avery called Diane.
Her mother came to the office carrying a box.
“I kept old tax binders,” she said.
“You knew we were looking for records?”
“You told me.”
“I didn't tell you to bring anything.”
“I know.”
Diane placed the box on the table.
Inside were payroll summaries, handwritten vendor notes and old monthly close checklists.
The documents were not dramatic.
That made them useful.
On an October 2017 reconciliation sheet, Diane had written:
ASK G ABOUT CTS — NO RECEIPTS.
On November's:
G SAYS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
On January's:
NEED SUPPORT BEFORE TAX PREP.
Avery stared.
“You questioned it.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you keep paying?”
“I didn't authorize every transfer.”
“Who did?”
“Grant.”
Avery sat back.
Diane continued.
“By December, I told him the reimbursements had to stop until he documented them.”
“What did he say?”
“That he'd put almost a hundred thousand dollars of his own money into your company and was tired of being treated like a thief.”
Avery's mouth tightened.
The phrase was pure Grant.
“What happened next?”
“He stopped.”
“And six weeks later GFC was formed.”
Diane nodded slowly.
Avery saw the pattern.
Grant had been pulling money from Cole House while telling the family he was financially supporting it.
The unexplained withdrawals had contributed to the cash crisis.
Then he had arranged the Hartline advance and returned $204,700, presenting the transfer as his rescue.
Lena said what Avery was thinking.
“He didn't create the entire crisis.”
“No,” Eric cautioned. “The company was already undercapitalized.”
Avery appreciated the correction.
The truth didn't need exaggeration.
Cole House had genuinely been struggling.
Avery had overspent on tooling.
A large wholesale customer had paid late.
Their margins were terrible.
But Grant had removed money during the worst period.
Then profited from solving a problem he had made worse.
Avery thought of his sentence in the showroom.
My money made this company possible.
It sounded different now.
Not just arrogance.
Construction.
A story he had repeated until even Avery had accepted its basic premise.
Eric examined the Hartline royalty schedule.
“One question matters.”
“What?”
“What were the $45,000 in unsupported transfers used for?”
“If he stole them—”
“I didn't say stole.”
“Fine. If he took them.”
“We need the destination.”
They traced two payments quickly.
Credit-card balances.
A country-club account.
One transfer remained.
$27,500.
It had moved from Carolina Trade Services into Grant's personal brokerage account.
Four days later, almost the exact amount moved somewhere else.
The receiving account was not Grant's.
Eric looked at the destination name.
Then at Avery.
“This belonged to someone named Thomas Vale.”
Avery stopped breathing normally.
Thomas Vale had been her father.
He had died in 2021.
Diane went completely still.
Avery looked at her mother.
“What did Dad need twenty-seven thousand dollars for?”
Diane's eyes lowered.
May you like
For the second time in a week, Avery watched her mother decide whether to tell her the truth.
This time Diane said, “Your father had a problem you never knew about.”
