Millionaire Sent Her $200K by Mistake — And He Never Expected What She Did Next!
Chapter 2
Daniel Whitmore arrived at the café ten minutes early.
Emma arrived five minutes late because the bus broke down.
He stood when she entered.
She almost turned around.
He looked exactly like the photographs online.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes.
Expensive suit.
Calm expression.
The kind of man who never seemed rushed because everyone else waited for him.
Emma looked down at her own faded coat.
“I almost didn’t come.”
“I noticed.”
She frowned.
“You noticed?”
“I checked the door every thirty seconds.”
Emma sat opposite him.
“I brought the bank documents.”
“Thank you.”
He didn’t reach for them immediately.
Instead, he studied her.
“You’ve never met anyone from my company?”
“No.”
“You have no business relationship with Whitmore Logistics?”
“No.”
“You don’t know why the money was sent?”
“No.”
Daniel nodded.
“Good.”
“Good?”
“You’re not lying.”
Emma crossed her arms.
“How would you know?”
“People usually avoid eye contact when they’re hiding money.”
Emma laughed.
“I don’t have money to hide.”
Daniel almost smiled.
That surprised her.
He opened a folder.
“This transfer was supposed to go to a confidential charity account.”
“Then why did it come to me?”
“That is what I don’t understand.”
He showed her the transaction.
The sender account belonged to a private trust.
The trust’s name was The Diane Carter Foundation.
Emma froze.
“My mother’s name.”
Daniel nodded.
“That is why I called you.”
Emma stared at him.
“My mother doesn’t have a foundation.”
“She may not know she does.”
“What does that mean?”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Three years ago, my company began receiving anonymous donations through a holding structure.”
“From who?”
“We couldn’t determine it.”
“And the $200,000?”
“Part of the same structure.”
Emma looked at the document.
“Why would my mother’s name be attached to it?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel turned another page.
“Your mother was admitted to St. Vincent Medical Center twelve years ago, correct?”
Emma stared.
“Yes.”
“Do you remember a doctor named Samuel Reed?”
Her expression changed.
“No.”
“Your mother might.”
“She doesn’t remember much from that period.”
Daniel nodded.
“Then we need to find out.”
Emma leaned back.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because someone has been moving money through a network under false names.”
“And you think my mother is involved?”
“No.”
“Then why her?”
Daniel looked at her carefully.
“I think she was used as a name.”
Emma’s stomach tightened.
“Used for what?”
“I don’t know yet.”
He pushed another document toward her.
It was a copy of a bank transfer from twelve years earlier.
The sender was a company called Northbridge Relief.
The beneficiary:
Diane Carter.
The amount:
$47,000.
Emma stared.
“My mother never had this.”
“Exactly.”
Daniel continued.
“There were seven transfers over six years.”
“How much total?”
“More than $600,000.”
Emma looked sick.
“My mother was on disability.”
“I know.”
“She couldn’t possibly have this kind of money.”
“I agree.”
“Then who received it?”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“That is what I’ve been trying to discover.”
Emma looked at him.
“Why didn’t you contact my mother?”
“We tried.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“She was too sick.”
Daniel nodded.
“Then someone told us she had died.”
Emma froze.
“My mother is alive.”
“I know.”
He lowered his voice.
“That’s why this just became much more serious.”
Emma looked at the $200,000 transaction.
“You think whoever sent it knew she was alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then why send it to me?”
Daniel answered:
“Because they wanted me to find you.”
A chill ran through Emma.
Someone hadn’t made a mistake.
Someone had used two hundred thousand dollars to put them together.
And neither of them yet knew why.
