“And?”
“Tonight, I found my granddaughter walking through a blizzard. Twenty-four hours postpartum. No coat. No phone. No car.”
The detective’s pen stopped moving.
She looked at Claire.
Claire’s voice was barely a whisper.
“They told me we were broke.”
Edward’s jaw tightened.
“I’ve been sending fifteen thousand dollars every month for five years. That’s nine hundred thousand dollars.”
The silence in the room was absolute.
Detective Chen leaned forward.
“Where did the money go?”
“That,” Edward said, “is what I intend to find out.”
His phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen, then turned it toward the detective.
“My accountant just sent the records. Every transfer. Every date. Every amount.”
Detective Chen took the phone and scrolled.
Her expression darkened with every swipe.
“This is enough to open an investigation.”
Edward nodded.
“I want officers at the house tonight.”
“Mr. Harrington—”
“Tonight, Detective.”
There was no room for argument in his voice.
Detective Chen stood.
“I’ll make the call.”
Claire sat frozen in the chair, her mind struggling to process what was happening.
Nine hundred thousand dollars.
Her mother had looked her in the eye and said they were broke.
Her father had thrown her out into a blizzard.
Vanessa had smiled.
