Chapter 5: The Money Beneath the Family Name
Daniel spent the next hour in his father's office with the door locked and the blinds drawn.
On the desk lay the estate's bank statements, the old trust agreement, and a printed copy of the transfer request Robert had emailed him.
Four hundred and fifty thousand pounds.
The amount was large enough to cripple the estate's operating budget for months. It was also nearly identical to the reserve Daniel had set aside to cover winter repairs, staff wages, and the final payments on Wrenford Hall's restoration loan.
If the transfer cleared, the estate would struggle to meet its obligations.
If he stopped it, the bank would demand an explanation.
Either way, the secret was about to become impossible to contain.
Mara sat opposite him, turning a teaspoon slowly inside a cup of untouched tea.
"Could the payment be legitimate?"" she asked.
Daniel shook his head.
"Not without board approval. That reserve is restricted. Celia knows that better than anyone.""
"Where is it going?""
He pointed to the printed transfer request.
"A company called Northmere Heritage Holdings.""
Mara frowned.
"Never heard of it.""
"Neither have I.""
He opened his laptop and searched the company's registration details.
The company had been incorporated eighteen months earlier. Its registered office was a small accounting firm in Manchester. It had no public website, no listed employees, and no visible business activity.
Daniel scrolled through the available records.
Then he stopped.
The company director was listed as *Eleanor Price*.
Mara leaned forward.
"Who is that?""
Daniel opened the filing history.
"Eleanor was our grandmother's middle name. Price could be anything.""
"Could it be Celia?""
"Possibly.""
He called Robert again.
"Did Celia explain the purpose of the transfer?""
"No, sir. The reference says estate restructuring.""
"Has it been approved?""
"Not yet. It requires your authorization.""
Daniel looked at the signature line.
His electronic signature had already been attached.
He went completely still.
"Robert, I haven't signed this.""
There was a long silence.
"Are you certain?""
"Absolutely.""
"Then someone has used your credentials.""
Daniel felt a cold pressure settle in his chest.
"Freeze the request. Do not process any payment without speaking to me directly.""
"Understood.""
"And Robert?""
"Yes, sir?""
"Preserve every email, document, and login record connected to this transfer. Don't confront Celia. Don't tell anyone else until I speak with our solicitor.""
"I'll handle it.""
Daniel ended the call.
Mara stared at him.
"She forged your signature?""
"We don't know that yet.""
"But you didn't authorize it.""
"No.""
"Daniel, what could possibly make this worse?""
He looked at the old photograph of Persephone on the desk.
"I don't know.""
A knock came at the door.
They both turned.
Mrs. Finch entered carrying a small tray. On it sat two mugs of tea and a plate of biscuits.
"Sorry to disturb you," she said.
"I thought you might need something.""
Daniel forced a smile.
"Thank you, Mrs. Finch.""
The housekeeper set the tray down, then glanced at the documents.
"Is it about Miss Celia?""
Daniel exchanged a look with Mara.
"Why do you ask?""
Mrs. Finch clasped her hands.
"Because she's been in your father's office every evening for weeks. Sometimes she stays until midnight. Yesterday, I heard her on the telephone. She said the transfer had to be completed before the solicitor arrived.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"Which solicitor?""
"I don't know, sir. But she mentioned a woman named Helen.""
Mara stood abruptly.
"Did she say anything else?""
Mrs. Finch hesitated.
"She said that if Helen reached the house, the whole family would lose everything.""
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Did Celia know you were listening?""
"No, sir.""
"Thank you. Please don't mention this conversation to anyone.""
Mrs. Finch nodded and left.
Mara sat down slowly.
"She knew Helen was coming.""
"Yes.""
"And she was planning to move the money before that happened.""
Daniel looked at the transfer request.
"Which means we need to find out who Northmere Heritage Holdings really belongs to.""
He picked up his phone and called the estate's solicitor, Richard Bell.
Richard answered on the fourth ring.
"Daniel. I was about to call you.""
"Then we're both having a difficult day.""
"I've received a message from your sister.""
"What did she say?""
"She wants an urgent meeting tomorrow morning concerning the Hartley trust. She claims a beneficiary has come forward and that the estate may face a substantial claim.""
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"She hasn't told you about the transfer?""
"What transfer?""
Daniel sent him the document.
Richard was silent for nearly thirty seconds.
Then he said, "Where did you get this?""
"From the estate accountant.""
"Daniel, this is serious.""
"I gathered that.""
"The trust was never designed to give Celia control over the reserve. If the original beneficiary's identity is confirmed, the funds must remain available for an independent review.""
"Could the trust be transferred to another company?""
"Not without proper authorization. And certainly not using a forged signature.""
Daniel glanced at Mara.
"Can you determine who owns Northmere Heritage Holdings?""
"I'll make inquiries. But I need to ask you something first.""
"Go ahead.""
"Did you know about the old trust before today?""
"No.""
"Did you authorize a boarding-school payment for Persephone?""
Daniel's silence lasted a second too long.
"Yes.""
Richard exhaled.
"Daniel, I need you to be very careful. If that payment was connected to the trust conditions, someone may argue that you knowingly participated in an attempt to alter the beneficiary arrangements.""
"I didn't know anything about the trust.""
"Then preserve every record showing what you were told and when. Do not destroy or amend anything. We need a complete timeline.""
Daniel glanced at Mara.
"Understood.""
"And one more thing," Richard said.
"The person named Helen Ward contacted my office last week. She says her mother was Persephone Margaret Hartley. If that is true, she may have a legitimate claim. We should not assume she is acting in bad faith simply because Celia fears her.""
"I don't.""
"Good. Because tomorrow's meeting could determine the future of Wrenford Hall.""
After the call, Daniel sat motionless for several seconds.
Mara reached across the desk.
"You didn't know.""
"I should have told you about the school.""
"Yes," she said.
"You should have.""
He looked at her.
She didn't soften the answer.
"You made a decision about our daughter's life without me. You let your sister become involved in something that should have belonged to us as parents. Whatever Celia did, you gave her a door to walk through.""
Daniel lowered his head.
"I know.""
"I need you to understand that apologizing isn't enough.""
"I do.""
"Then stop making promises and start telling the truth.""
He looked at her for a long moment.
"You're right.""
Mara's eyes filled, but she didn't look away.
"I don't want to spend the rest of our marriage wondering what else you've decided without telling me.""
"You won't.""
"Don't promise me that. Show me.""
Daniel nodded.
For the first time that day, the silence between them didn't feel like a weapon.
It felt like a decision neither of them knew how to make yet.
A small voice came from the corridor.
"Daddy?""
Daniel stood so quickly that his chair scraped against the floor.
Persephone appeared in the doorway wearing pajamas patterned with yellow stars. Mrs. Finch stood behind her, looking apologetic.
"She wouldn't settle," the housekeeper explained.
"I thought perhaps she needed you.""
Daniel crossed the room and lifted his daughter into his arms.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?""
Persephone rested her head against his shoulder.
"I had a dream.""
"About school?""
She nodded.
"In the dream, you put me on a train. Aunt Celia was standing on the platform, and she was smiling.""
Daniel closed his eyes.
He could feel Mara watching them.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Persephone pulled back.
"Are you still sending me away?""
"No.""
"Even if I'm naughty?""
"Even then.""
"Even if I break something?""
"Even then.""
She considered this.
"What if I break something very expensive?""
Daniel almost smiled.
"Then we'll talk about how to fix it.""
Persephone looked at him carefully.
"Will you be angry?""
"Maybe. But being angry doesn't mean I stop loving you.""
She seemed to absorb that answer.
Then she touched his cheek with one small hand.
"That's what Mummy says.""
Daniel kissed her forehead.
"Your mummy is a very wise woman.""
Persephone leaned against him again.
After a few minutes, she fell asleep in his arms.
Daniel carried her upstairs with Mara following behind. They settled her into their bed, tucked her rabbit beside her, and left the bedside lamp glowing.
As Daniel turned toward the door, Persephone stirred.
"Daddy?""
"I'm here.""
"Was the other Persephone bad?""
He stopped.
Mara went completely still.
"What other Persephone, sweetheart?""
"The one Aunt Celia was talking about.""
Daniel sat on the edge of the bed.
"No. Why would you think that?""
Persephone rubbed her eyes.
"Because Aunt Celia said she went away because she was difficult.""
Daniel felt a wave of nausea.
"When did she say that?""
"Last week. She showed me a picture of a little girl. She said that girl couldn't behave, so she had to go to school.""
Mara gripped the doorframe.
Daniel kept his voice gentle.
"Did Aunt Celia tell you anything else?""
Persephone nodded.
"She said if I wanted to stay here, I had to be good and not tell you about the school.""
Daniel's throat tightened.
He brushed a curl from his daughter's face.
"You can always tell us the truth, sweetheart. You never have to keep a secret that makes you frightened.""
Persephone's eyes drifted closed.
"Okay, Daddy.""
Within minutes, she was asleep again.
Daniel stood slowly and followed Mara into the corridor.
Neither spoke until they reached the staircase.
Then Mara whispered, "She was conditioning her.""
Daniel looked down the dark corridor toward the old nursery.
"Yes.""
"She wanted Persephone to believe that being sent away was a consequence of being bad.""
Daniel's hands curled into fists.
"And she used the first Persephone's story to make our daughter afraid of the same fate.""
They descended to the ground floor.
As they approached the office, Daniel noticed a light beneath the door.
He had locked it earlier.
He was certain of that.
He pushed the door open.
The desk drawers were open.
Papers lay scattered across the carpet.
The old photograph was gone.
So was the original trust agreement.
Daniel rushed to the filing cabinet.
The folder containing the birth certificate had disappeared, along with the letters written by his father and grandmother.
Mara stared at the empty drawer.
"Who had a key?""
Daniel looked at the desk.
A small brass key lay beside the telephone.
He recognized it immediately.
It belonged to the office's spare lock, the one normally kept in a locked cabinet in the hallway.
Someone had taken it.
Someone who knew where everything was kept.
Daniel picked up his phone and called security.
"Lock down the estate," he ordered.
"Nobody leaves until I know who entered this office.""
The guard on duty sounded confused.
"Sir, Miss Hartley left the grounds twenty minutes ago.""
Daniel froze.
"Which Miss Hartley?""
"Celia, sir. She said you had authorized her to collect documents from the village solicitor.""
Mara stared at him.
Daniel felt the room grow cold.
"Did she take anything with her?""
The guard hesitated.
"She was carrying a brown leather case.""
Daniel looked at the empty drawer.
The guard continued.
"She also asked us to arrange transport to the railway station.""
"Which train?""
"The 8:40 to London.""
Daniel checked the clock.
It was 8:27.
He ended the call.
Mara grabbed her coat.
"She's running.""
Daniel shook his head.
"No. She's moving the money, destroying the evidence, and leaving us to explain what happened.""
He snatched the car keys from the desk.
Then his phone rang again.
This time, it was Robert.
"Mr. Hartley, I'm sorry. The transfer has been approved.""
Daniel stopped moving.
"What?""
"The funds have already been released.""
"How?""
"Your electronic signature was accepted. The bank says the authorization was submitted from your office computer.""
Daniel stared at the screen.
He had been sitting beside Mara in the office when the request was submitted.
He hadn't touched the computer.
"Where is the money now?""
Robert's voice trembled.
"The receiving account has already moved it to another institution.""
Daniel closed his eyes.
Four hundred and fifty thousand pounds had vanished.
And his sister was on her way to London with the original trust documents.
Mara took his hand.
"Daniel, what are we going to do?""
He opened his eyes.
"We're going to find her.""
May you like
Then he looked at the empty drawer one last time.
"And when we do, she's going to tell us why she was willing to destroy this family to keep one woman from coming home.""
