Chapter 12 - The First Donor
The foundation's earliest donation had come from a shell company called Hawthorn Holdings.
Maya had never heard of it.
The paperwork listed a post-office box and an attorney whose name appeared elsewhere in the Vance family's business records.
Rachel asked a forensic accountant named Daniel Reeves to review documents Maya was entitled to access.
He warned us not to jump from coincidence to conspiracy.
"Follow the records," he said.
For several days, we did exactly that.
The records led to consulting payments, a property company, and a trust connected to Evelyn's late father.
They also exposed a troubling overlap between the family's private businesses and the charity's vendors.
Maya grew angrier each time Daniel explained another transaction.
"They used the children," she said.
"They used the story of children needing homes."
Her anger did not make her less believable.
It made her determined to understand.
One ledger entry listed a payment for a security installation at an address that was not the Vance estate.
Daniel displayed the invoice.
"Does this place mean anything to you?"
Maya leaned closer.
"That's where Julian told me his mother kept family archives."
I remembered driving past the property once.
It was a nondescript office near an industrial park.
Ortiz pursued lawful avenues to examine whether its records were relevant.
She told us to stay away from the building.
Julian must have realized the address had surfaced.
He called Maya from a blocked number and left a voice message.
"You've made your point," he said gently.
"Come home before you hurt people who never did anything to you."
The tenderness in his voice sickened me.
Maya listened once, then saved the file.
"He only sounds kind when he needs something," she said.
And when the next report arrived, we learned what he needed.
May you like
The archive held insurance records in Maya's name.
