Chapter 2 - The Audit of a Ghost
By three o'clock that afternoon, Claire placed a single manila folder on Adrian’s desk. She looked shaken.
“Well?” Adrian demanded before she could speak.
“It’s worse than you thought,” Claire said quietly. “The three million dollars you gave her? It never cleared her personal accounts.”
Adrian frowned. “What are you talking about? The wire transfer was executed by my corporate finance team the day the decree was signed.”
“Yes, it was executed,” Claire replied, opening the folder. “And it was immediately redirected into an escrow account held by a shell corporation. According to our forensic accountants, your former father-in-law’s medical debts—totaling nearly three point five million—swallowed every cent before Lily could touch a dime. Her father passed away three months after the divorce was finalized. Lily walked away with nothing.”
Adrian felt a sudden, sharp pain in his chest, as if someone had driven a spike through his ribs. Richard Hart had been a brilliant, proud university professor who had suffered a massive stroke right around the time Adrian’s company was scaling up its initial public offering. Adrian had been too busy securing venture capital to visit the hospital more than once.
“She didn't tell me,” Adrian whispered.
“She wouldn't,” Claire said. “Lily was fiercely independent when you met her, and she was even prouder when she left. But that’s not the most interesting part.”
Claire turned a page, revealing a medical record printout.
“The baby,” Adrian breathed.
“A little girl,” Claire said. “Born fourteen months ago at Mercy Hospital downtown. Birth certificate lists the mother as Lily Hart. Father’s field is blank.”
Adrian’s breath hitched. Fourteen months ago. That meant Lily had been roughly six months pregnant when she vanished entirely from Chicago society—or, more accurately, when Adrian had stopped noticing her presence altogether.
“Her address?” Adrian asked, his voice suddenly stripped of all authority.
“A small basement apartment on Racine Avenue, near the transit line,” Claire said gently. “Adrian... what are you going to do?”
May you like
Adrian didn't answer. He reached for his wool overcoat, grabbed his car keys, and walked out of the office without looking back.
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