Chapter 2 - The Missing Millions
Donovan stared at the file on his granite kitchen island.
The name "Callaway Legacy Minor Support Fund" echoed in his mind like a gunshot.
He poured himself a glass of whiskey, though it was barely dawn.
Greer watched him from the doorway, her arms crossed tight against her chest.
"The trust was established by her grandfather before he lost the hotel," Greer said quietly.
"It was meant to be untouchable until she turned eighteen."
Donovan flipped the page, his eyes scanning the banking records.
"It’s not untouchable," Donovan growled, tapping a manicured finger against a glaring red zero.
"Someone drained thirty million dollars in the last six months."
"And her Aunt Ruth was the sole signatory," Greer confirmed.
Donovan’s jaw tightened, the old scar on his cheek pulling taut.
Ruth didn’t strike him as a criminal mastermind; she struck him as a desperate woman who took a payoff.
Someone much bigger, much more dangerous, had orchestrated this theft.
They had stolen a little girl’s future and tossed her away like garbage.
"Where did social services take her?" Donovan asked, his voice dangerously low.
Greer handed him a slip of paper.
"An emergency group home on the south side."
"It’s overcrowded, underfunded, and they don't have enough beds."
Donovan didn’t say a word.
He grabbed his black overcoat and walked out the door.
When he arrived at the group home, the smell of bleach and old boiled cabbage hit him instantly.
The building was gray, tired, and packed with children who had learned to be invisible.
He found Mave sitting in a plastic chair in the hallway.
She was clutching Gerald Too, her mismatched shoes swinging inches above the linoleum floor.
A larger boy bumped into her roughly, but she didn’t make a sound.
Donovan crouched in front of her, just like he had in the hotel lobby.
"Mave," he said softly.
She looked up, her brown eyes widening in shock.
"You came," she whispered, as if it was a magic trick.
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"I told you I couldn't come yesterday," Donovan said, looking into her sad eyes.
"I didn't say anything about today."
