Chapter 7 - Unraveling the Web
By midnight, Ren was fast asleep in the upstairs bedroom, tucked under three layers of thick down quilts.
Downstairs, the kitchen light flickered over the dining table, where Belle and Edmund sat across from each other, two steaming mugs of herbal tea sitting untouched between them. The stacks of financial documents Belle had been reading earlier were now spread out into three neat piles.
"How bad is it, Belle?" Edmund asked, his voice low as he nursed his mug, his eyes tracing the neat legal handwriting on Belle’s notepad.
Belle took a breath, organizing her thoughts with professional precision. "Dad, when Declan and Sienna took over managing your personal accounts three years ago, they didn't just spend money on personal expenses. They systematically liquidated several long-term capital bonds that were supposed to fund your medical care."
Edmund’s brow furrowed, but he didn't look entirely surprised. "I knew they were moving funds around. Every time I asked Declan for a line-item summary of the timber dividends, he would wave his hands, tell me the market was down, and assure me everything was taken care of."
"The market wasn't down," Belle countered, sliding a ledger sheet across the table toward him. "The timber dividends were paying out thirty thousand dollars a quarter. Declan diverted those payments directly into a shell corporation named 'Sienna Crest Investments.' Over thirty-six months, they siphoned over four hundred thousand dollars out of your core estate."
Edmund stared down at the black-and-white numbers on the paper. The cold reality of his oldest daughter's betrayal seemed to settle deep into his bones.
"They weren't just waiting for me to die, Bel," Edmund whispered, his voice cracking with a sudden, devastating grief. "They were actively bankrupting me so I’d have no choice but to sell the lake house to pay off the artificial debts they created."
"Exactly," Belle said, her eyes flashing with a fierce, protective steel. "That’s why Declan was so desperate to get your signature on Christmas night. He had generated a fraudulent lien against the main house using Sienna Crest Investments as the primary lender. If you had signed that power of attorney, they would have foreclosed on the lake house within thirty days and liquidated the land to private developers."
Edmund sat back in his chair, shaking his head slowly. "And your mother? Did she know about the money?"
"Mom didn't care about the numbers, Dad," Belle said gently, reaching across the table to cover her father's hand with her own. "Mom only cared about control. She let Sienna run the finances because Sienna played along with her narrative—that they were the good, loyal family members protecting you from the 'irresponsible' daughter in the city."
Edmund squeezed Belle’s hand tightly. "I felt it, you know. For years, I felt like I was drowning in that big house. Every meal felt like a performance. Every conversation had an underlying motive. The only time I felt like myself was when I slipped out to the garage to look at Callum's old tackle box."
"Well, the bleeding stops now, Dad," Belle declared firmly. "Tomorrow morning, I'm filing a formal freeze on all joint accounts associated with Sienna Crest Investments. And I’ve already drafted a civil subpoena for Declan's firm to produce every accounting ledger from the last five years."
"Will it mean a trial?" Edmund asked quietly.
"If they fight it, yes," Belle replied, her jaw set in an unyielding line. "Declan committed grand larceny and fraud. I offered them a quiet exit on Christmas night, but if they try to challenge your new trust, I will bring the full force of the law down on both of them."
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Edmund looked into his daughter's eyes and saw not just the brilliant lawyer she had become, but the brave, resilient nineteen-year-old girl who had taken a midnight bus into the unknown fourteen years ago and conquered it on her own terms.
"Do what you have to do, Bel," Edmund said, a proud, peaceful smile breaking through his sadness. "It's time the truth had its day in court."
