A system.
They hadn’t brought me into their family.
They had recruited unpaid labor.
That night, I called Maria.
“I want to know why Patricia really fired you.”
Silence.
Then Maria said, “I saw documenTS.”
“What documents?”
“Bank statemenTS. Mrs. Whitmore told me to burn them.”
My pulse slowed.
“Did you?”
“No.”
The next afternoon, we met at a café.
Maria slid an envelope across the table.
Inside were photocopies showing repeated transfers from Whitmore Family Holdings into accounts controlled by Patricia’s brother.
Amounts between $18,000 and $70,000.
Hundreds of thousands over three years.
Patricia wasn’t merely spending family money.
She was siphoning it.
I sent everything to my attorney.
Then I did something Patricia never noticed.
I began photographing documents whenever she left them scattered in her office.
Invoices.
Wire confirmations.
Property tax statemenTS.
A loan agreement carrying Daniel’s electronic signature.
By the end of the week, the picture was clear.
