Chapter 5 - The Mother’s Secret
The next step was dealing with James’s mother, Eleanor.
Eleanor was the one who had brought the investigator to the house, but not to help.
She had timed it perfectly to frame me when the forged property deeds were on the table.
Mark, the reporter, met Laura and me at a local diner to form a plan.
“Eleanor has a safety deposit box at the downtown bank,” Mark revealed.
“My sources say she visits it every time James closes a 'business' deal.”
“She’s his money mule,” I realized, putting the pieces together.
“Exactly,” Mark said. “She holds the physical cash to keep it off the grid.”
“If we can expose her, her testimony against you falls apart completely.”
Laura sipped her coffee, her expression hardening.
“I know her security questions,” Laura said quietly.
Mark and I both stared at her.
“I was married to James for nine years,” Laura explained.
“Eleanor made me set up her banking apps because she doesn't understand technology.”
“That’s bank fraud if we try to access it,” I warned.
“It’s not fraud if we just give the police the anonymous tip they need to get a warrant,” Mark smiled.
We spent the next two hours drafting a secure, encrypted email to the investigator.
We detailed the exact branch, the box number from the journal, and the dates of access.
By that afternoon, the police raided the bank.
They found over two million dollars in cash and a thumb drive containing blackmail material.
Eleanor was arrested in the parking lot of her country club.
The news broke on evening television, showing her being shoved into a police cruiser.
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