Page 13 of Little Did You Know

"Mr. Pearson, what can I do for you?"

What started as a simple request for a new bank card turned into something else entirely. Brian's typing echoed through the phone, followed by a sharp intake of breath.

"I'm looking at her account now." His professional tone faltered. "Or what's left of it. Someone cleared it out this morning. Closed completely."

"Who closed the account?" The words shot from my mouth, sharper than I intended.

Keys clicked on Brian's end. Each second of silence wound my nerves tighter. I drummed my fingers against the desk, counting the beats.

"Olivia Ryan." The name hung between us.

I gripped the phone tighter. "Where?"

More typing followed, then Brian cleared his throat. "New York branch. This morning."

I pressed my fingers against my temple, the pieces refusing to fit together. "Brian, at four AM this morning, Olivia was stepping onto my jet in New York. Unless she's figured out how to be in two places at once..."

The line went quiet. When Brian spoke again, his banker's polish had cracked. "That's... not possible. The system shows her ID was verified in person. Photo matched. Signatures matched."

"Someone's gotten very good at being Olivia Ryan." I leaned forward, my reflection in the window looking as grim as I felt. "Run it through fraud investigations. Now."

"Yes, sir. Right away."

"How much did they take?" My voice was steady, but my fingers had gone white around the phone.

"One moment." Brian's keys clicked. "Final withdrawal: one hundred twenty-four thousand, seventy-eight dollars and?—"

"That's it?" The words escaped before I could stop them. Something wasn't adding up. The Ryan inheritance had been split three ways, and Olivia's share alone had been...

"Brian." My words sliced through his recitation. "What was the starting balance?"

Keys clicked in the silence. Then—a whistle of breath, so soft I almost missed it.

"Account opened nine years ago. Initial deposit..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Fifty million dollars."

The room tilted. Fifty million. The number blazed behind my eyes, each zero a burning accusation. My free hand found the edge of the desk, steadying me as nine years of carefully managed wealth dissolved into vapor.

Where did it all go?

"When did the account become accessible?"

"She couldn't access the money until she was 18; however, her guardian was able to access it from day one."

Emmett.

"Don't worry about looking into it; I think I know what happened. Could you please have an additional credit card attached to my accounts done by today with Olivia's name on it? I'll be sending Rachel Mathis to pick it up."

"Yes, sir. Give us thirty minutes."

"Thanks for all your help." I disconnected.

What the fuck are you up to, Emmett? First, the fire and now the bank and the school? I had no idea what to think, and on top of everything else, I couldn't get a hold of him to ask him. I did the next best thing and called Anthony, who answered on the third ring, "Hello."

"Anthony, it's Nick."

"Nick." Anthony's voice carried an edge I'd never heard before, a tightness that sent warning signals up my spine. "I was about to call you. Olivia—is she safe?"

My grip tightened on the phone until my knuckles whitened. The muscles in my jaw worked as I stared out the window. "She's here. Protected." I swallowed hard. "What's wrong?"

---