Part 11
I hung up the phone slowly.
The air in the hallway felt instantly colder.
"Mom?" Derek asked, standing up. "What did the detective say?"
"There's a third person, Derek."
"Someone with a fake passport using your name."
"They are draining the offshore account right now from Europe."
Derek stared at me, his face turning from pale to completely blank with shock.
"Europe? But how? Who else did Felicia know?"
"Think, Derek," I said, gripping his arms.
"Did she ever mention anyone else?"
"An business partner? An old friend? Someone who handled the technical side of things?"
He shook his head frantically, trying to remember.
"No... she always said it was just her and Cassandra."
"Wait."
He froze.
"A month ago, she introduced me to a man at a coffee shop."
"She said he was her accountant's assistant."
"His name was Thomas."
"He was very quiet, but he asked a lot of questions about my job."
"He asked about my mother's maiden name... he joked that he needed it to verify my employee profile for a discount program."
"I gave it to him."
He slapped his hand against his forehead.
"I gave him everything."
"We need to contact Maya," I said immediately.
"She worked at that office. She might know who Thomas really is."
I pulled out my phone and dialed Maya's number.
It rang three times before she answered.
"Eleanor?" her voice was breathless, panicked.
"Maya, the police arrested Felicia and Cassandra," I said quickly.
"But someone named Thomas is draining the offshore account right now."
"Do you know a Thomas?"
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.
"Thomas Vance," Maya whispered.
"Vance?" I asked, my heart stopping. "As in Richard Vance?"
"He's Richard Vance's nephew," Maya said.
"He's the IT specialist for Caldwell Holdings."
"He's the one who sets up the shell accounts and handles the digital signatures."
"Oh my god, Eleanor... Richard Vance wasn't an innocent investor."
"He was part of it?" I asked, my blood turning to ice.
"No," Maya said. "Richard Vance is being setup by his nephew too."
"Thomas used his uncle's name to give the company credibility."
"Richard didn't know his nephew was using him as bait for bigger targets."
"Thomas isn't in Europe, Eleanor."
"He uses a VPN—a virtual private network—to hide his location."
"If the IP address says Europe, he's actually right there in the city."
"Probably at the secondary office on Oak Street."
"He's going to take the money and run before Felicia talks."
I looked at the clock. It was 10:45 PM.
"Maya, call Detective Harris right now," I ordered.
"Tell him about Thomas Vance and the Oak Street office."
"What are you going to do?" Maya asked, her voice trembling.
I looked at Derek, who was already grabbing his car keys.
The soft, fragile boy was gone.
In his eyes was the determination of a man who wanted his life back.
May you like
"We're going to Oak Street," I told her.
"Because if the police don't get there in time, that money disappears forever."
