Chapter 5 - The Paper Trail of Greed
The audit didn't stop with the Canva flyer. Once a forensic auditor finds the first fraudulent transaction, the rest of the balance sheet unravels like a cheap sweater.
"If she took eight thousand dollars from the family for the house," Liam said, highlighting the dates on the flyer, "what did she tell Eleanor?"
"Eleanor wouldn't pay Marissa $650," I replied. "Eleanor thinks she’s royalty. Marissa wouldn't dare charge her. She probably told Eleanor that *I* was paying for everything as a tribute to the Sterling family name, while charging the cousins and uncles behind Eleanor’s back."
To confirm the hypothesis, we needed access to the inner circle.
At 2:00 PM on Saturday, I picked up my phone and dialed Chloe.
Chloe was twenty-two, a junior at Ohio State, and the only member of Greg’s family who had ever spoken to me like an actual human being. At Mom’s funeral, she was the only one who brought me a bottle of water and asked if I had eaten lunch.
The phone rang four times.
"Hello?" Chloe’s voice sounded hushed, guarded. "Avery? Is that you?"
"Hi, Chloe," I said gently. "I know you were told not to talk to me. Are you at the motel?"
A heavy sigh crackled through the receiver. "We’re at this awful place off the highway. The air conditioner smells like mildew and Aunt Donna has been crying since yesterday. Greg and Marissa are in the parking lot screaming at each other. Avery... why did you do that? My mom spent her entire summer bonus on our tickets."
"Chloe, I need you to listen to me very carefully," I said, keeping my voice calm and maternal. "Did your mother pay Marissa money to stay at my house?"
There was a long silence on the line.
"Yeah," Chloe whispered. "Marissa sent out an email in April. She said she and Greg had acquired a luxury timeshare share in Cape May and that they were opening it up to the family for a fraction of the market rate. Mom gave her $1,300 for the two of us. Uncle Marcus gave her almost two thousand for his family."
"Chloe," I said, "I bought this house with my own savings. I closed on it four days ago. I have never owned a timeshare. I never spoke to Marissa about hosting anyone. Marissa took your mother’s money, and she took Uncle Marcus’s money, knowing full well she had no legal right to this property."
"What?!" Chloe gasped. "No... Marissa said you were co-owners! She said you were handling the cleaning and she was handling the bookings!"
"I am texting you the deed right now," I said. "Look at the sole name on the title. Look at the date of purchase."
I sent the PDF via text. Ten seconds later, I heard Chloe inhale sharply through her teeth.
"Oh my God," she whispered. "She stole from us. She stole from her own husband’s family."
"Yes, she did," I said. "And right now, Marissa is using her Facebook post to paint me as a monster so that none of you ask where your money went. If she makes me the villain, nobody looks at her bank account."
"Avery, Aunt Eleanor thinks you’re an evil psychopath," Chloe said, her voice shaking with panic. "She’s calling Greg’s uncle who’s a retired magistrate in Pennsylvania to see if they can sue you for emotional trauma!"
"They can try," Liam’s voice cut in from beside me. "This is Liam Brody, Chloe. I’m Avery’s attorney. Tell me: did Marissa send payment requests through Venmo, Zelle, or personal check?"
"Venmo," Chloe answered immediately. "She marked them all as 'Family Reunion Dues.'"
"Wire fraud," Liam muttered, writing furiously on his pad. "Interstate wire fraud across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey. That’s a federal felony."
"Chloe," I said, "I’m going to make you an offer. I know you and your mother didn't know about this. I know you were dragged into this nightmare by Marissa’s greed. But if you want your mother’s thirteen hundred dollars back, I need you to do something for me tonight."
"What?" Chloe asked, terrified yet desperate.
"I need you to screenshot every single text message, email, and Venmo receipt from the group chat where Marissa organized this trip," I said. "Every single one. And then, I need you to make sure Eleanor Sterling is in the lobby of the Grand Cape Hotel tomorrow morning at eleven sharp."
"The Grand Cape?" Chloe blinked. "That’s the most expensive hotel on the beachfront. Why would she go there?"
May you like
"Because," I said, watching the waves crash against the shoreline outside my window, "I’m buying the Sterling family the luxury brunch they were promised. And Marissa is going to be the guest of honor."
***
