Arthur pulled a pair of reading glasses from his cardigan pocket and slid them onto his nose. His eyes scanned the lines of fine print, moving slowly down the page until they landed on the timestamped transaction log at the bottom.
Transfer Request: $250,000.00 — Authorized by M. Vance (Designated Proxy). Destination: Horizon Capital Holdings LLC — Zurich, Switzerland.
Arthur's hands began to tremble slightly. The glass of his reading glasses reflected the blue light of the screen.
"This... this is the house fund," Arthur whispered, looking up at Marcus. "The money your mother left for the grandchildren..."
"It was initiated from her personal laptop three days ago, Dad," Marcus said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion now that the truth was exposed. "I noticed the flag when I did our quarterly tax filing yesterday. When I confronted her about it at her apartment this morning, she tried to wipe the server."
Arthur turned his head slowly to look at Maya.
She was standing two steps away, her tear-stained face pale, her lips quivering. The dramatic, terrified defense she had been mounting moments ago seemed to evaporate, leaving behind a hollow, desperate silence.
"Maya," Arthur said, his voice dropping an octave, sounding older and more frail than he ever had before. "Is this true?"
"Dad... listen to me," Maya stammered, stepping forward and sinking back down onto her knees beside his leg. She reached out, grasping his forearm with desperate fingers. "It's not what he's making it look like. I took that money to pay off the men Marcus owes! They came to my apartment, Dad! They threatened to hurt you if the debt wasn't cleared by Friday!"
Marcus let out a short, bitter laugh. "Unbelievable. You're still trying to spin it."
"It's the truth!" Maya shouted, looking up at Marcus with pure hatred. "Show him the rest of the file, Marcus! Show him the transfer from your account to Horizon Capital last month!"