Chapter 4 - The Aftermath and the Audit
Three days after the wedding, Leah and Daniel sat in the sunlit breakfast nook of their new townhouse in North Seattle. Outside, the autumn rain drizzled against the glass, but inside, the atmosphere was warm and peaceful.
Leah’s phone had been buzzing nonstop since the reception. Dozens of voicemail messages from her mother, ranging from furious tirades to tearful guilt trips, were sitting in her inbox. She hadn't listened to a single one. Instead, she had changed her phone number and set up a strict filter on her email.
However, a new issue had surfaced.
While going through her financial documents to consolidate her assets with Daniel, Leah discovered several alarming discrepancies. Over the past five years, while she had been serving as the joint manager on her parents' family trust account—an arrangement set up after her father’s early retirement—large sums of money had been transferred out under her digital signature.
"Look at this, Daniel," Leah said, sliding her laptop across the wooden table. "These transfers... I never authorized them. Over $150,000 removed over three years."
Daniel frowned, examining the bank statements. "Where was the money going?"
"To a private holding company called 'S.M. Horizon Enterprises,'" Leah read from the ledger. "I don't recognize this name at all."
Daniel, whose background in corporate finance gave him an eye for detail, did a quick entity lookup on his tablet. Within minutes, his eyes narrowed. "S.M. Horizon Enterprises is registered under Sophie Morgan’s name. It was opened four years ago."
Leah felt a cold pit form in her stomach. "Sophie? She doesn't run a company. She claims she can't even handle a part-time remote job because of her vision."
"Well, according to the state registry, this entity owns a luxury beach condo in Birch Bay," Daniel revealed, showing her the property records. "And the down payment matches the exact amount transferred from your family trust account—using your forged signature."
Leah leaned back in her chair, the full horror of the situation dawning on her. Her parents hadn't just drained her time and emotional energy; they had used her identity and her good credit to secretly fund a lavish lifestyle for Sophie while portraying Sophie as a destitute, helpless victim to the entire family.
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"They didn't just want me to stay and take care of Sophie," Leah realized, her voice trembling with anger. "They needed me to stay because if I ever left and audited my accounts, their fraud would be exposed."
Daniel reached across the table and held her hand tightly. "Then it's time we do a full audit. We hire a forensic accountant today."
