Chapter 2 - The Bank Visit
Daniel did not shout.
Later, he would wish he had.
Shouting would have been easier than the silence that followed Margaret’s words.
Vanessa recovered first.
“Your mother asked me to take her.”
Margaret shook her head.
“I asked you to take me to the pharmacy.”
“Margaret.”
“You said we needed to stop at the bank.”
Daniel folded the rules carefully and placed them inside his jacket pocket.
“What did you do at the bank?”
Vanessa looked toward her guests.
“This conversation should happen privately.”
“No,” Daniel said. “You were comfortable having my mother wash dishes in front of them.”
“Daniel.”
“You were comfortable giving her instructions in front of them.”
Allison Grant shifted on her stool.
“Maybe we should leave.”
Vanessa turned sharply.
“Nobody needs to leave.”
The desperation in her voice made everyone more uncomfortable.
Daniel looked at Margaret.
“Mom. Tell me what happened.”
Margaret sat at the breakfast table.
Her wet hands trembled as she pulled the towel around them.
Vanessa watched her.
Daniel noticed.
He moved a chair and sat between his wife and mother.
Margaret stared at the tile floor.
“Vanessa said there had been fraudulent activity.”
“What activity?”
“She said someone tried to get into my savings account.”
Daniel frowned.
Margaret had sold her townhouse eight months earlier. After paying the remaining mortgage and closing costs, she had kept a little more than three hundred thousand dollars in savings and investments.
Daniel knew that because he had helped her choose a financial planner after his father died.
“What did the bank say?” he asked.
“I didn’t really speak to anyone alone.”
Vanessa scoffed.
“Because she was overwhelmed.”
Margaret continued.
“Vanessa had papers prepared.”
“What papers?”
“She said they allowed her to help if something happened while you were traveling.”
Daniel slowly turned toward Vanessa.
“A power of attorney?”
Vanessa lifted her chin.
“A limited financial authorization.”
Margaret looked at him.
“I thought it was only for emergencies.”
Daniel’s mouth went dry.
“Do you have copies?”
“Vanessa said the bank would send them.”
“Did they?”
Margaret glanced toward Vanessa.
“No.”
Daniel stood.
“Where are they?”
Vanessa sighed.
“This is becoming ridiculous.”
“Where are they?”
“In my office.”
Daniel walked toward the hallway.
Vanessa immediately followed.
He heard her heels behind him.
“Daniel, stop.”
He entered the small room she called her office.
It had white built-in shelves, gold-framed prints and a desk that was always immaculate.
He opened the first drawer.
Empty except for stationery.
The second contained household receipts.
Vanessa stepped into the doorway.
“You do not get to tear through my things.”
“My mother’s financial documents aren’t your things.”
“She trusted me to organize them.”
“Apparently she didn’t.”
“She absolutely did.”
From behind them Margaret said, “No.”
Both turned.
Margaret stood in the hallway, one hand on the doorframe.
“No, Vanessa. I was afraid to say no.”
Vanessa stared at her.
Something passed between them.
It lasted barely a second.
Daniel saw it anyway.
Vanessa knew exactly what Margaret meant.
“Which drawer?” Daniel asked.
Margaret pointed toward the locked filing cabinet beneath the window.
Vanessa’s face changed.
“That contains private documents.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Whose?”
Vanessa did not answer.
Daniel pulled the handle.
Locked.
“Key.”
“No.”
“Vanessa.”
“You’re not entitled to everything I own because your mother is having a paranoid moment.”
Allison appeared behind Margaret.
“I think you should give him the key.”
Vanessa looked stunned.
“Allison, stay out of this.”
Allison’s expression was uneasy but firm.
“You told us Margaret liked helping you.”
“She does.”
Allison looked toward the kitchen.
“No. She clearly doesn’t.”
Vanessa’s cheeks flushed.
Daniel held out his hand.
“Key.”
Vanessa stared at him.
Then she reached into a desk organizer and dropped a small brass key into his palm.
Daniel unlocked the cabinet.
The first folder bore Margaret’s name.
Inside were bank statements.
Credit union letters.
A brokerage summary.
And a notarized document titled DURABLE FINANCIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY.
Daniel read the first page.
Margaret had granted Vanessa broad authority.
Not emergency authority.
Not limited authority.
Broad authority over accounts, investments and property transactions.
He looked at the signature.
It resembled Margaret’s.
But something bothered him.
The date.
Three months earlier.
The day Daniel had flown to Denver.
“You signed this?”
Margaret approached.
Daniel held the document toward her.
She read the first page.
Her face drained.
“I never saw these words.”
Vanessa laughed once.
“That is your signature.”
“I signed something.”
“This.”
“No.”
Vanessa pointed.
“Then explain your name.”
Margaret’s lips trembled.
“You covered the pages.”
Daniel looked sharply at her.
“What?”
“She put little yellow flags where I was supposed to sign.”
Margaret demonstrated with her finger.
“She kept turning the pages before I could read them.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“You read every page.”
“No.”
“You told the notary you understood.”
Margaret seemed to shrink.
“Because you told me not to embarrass you.”
Daniel looked down at the document.
The notary section showed a name he did not recognize.
He photographed every page with his phone.
Then he returned to the folder.
Behind the power of attorney were three monthly bank statements.
Daniel scanned the withdrawals.
Most were ordinary.
Then he saw one he did not recognize.
V HOUSE HOLDINGS LLC.
$12,500.
The following month:
V HOUSE HOLDINGS LLC.
$18,200.
The most recent:
V HOUSE HOLDINGS LLC.
$24,900.
Daniel looked at Margaret.
“Mom, what is V House Holdings?”
She shook her head.
Vanessa moved forward.
“Daniel—”
He held up a hand.
Margaret looked genuinely confused.
“I’ve never heard of it.”
Daniel stared at the numbers again.
Three transfers.
Fifty-five thousand six hundred dollars.
He looked at his wife.
Vanessa’s composure finally cracked.
“It isn’t what you think.”
Daniel’s eyes met hers.
“What exactly do you think I think?”
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Before she could answer, Allison spoke from the doorway.
Her voice was quiet.
“I know what V House Holdings is.”
Everyone turned.
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
Allison looked at Vanessa.
“It’s your company.”
