Part 3: The Bank Manager\u2019s Discovery
\nMiles answered the call without taking his eyes off the room.
\n\u201cThis is Miles Hart.\u201d
\nThe silence was unbearable.
\nEveryone watched his face.
\nAfter only a few seconds, the color drained from it.
\n\u201cYou\u2019ve confirmed it?\u201d
\nAnother pause.
\n\u201cI understand.\u201d
\nHe slowly lowered the phone.
\nGrandma Beatrice stood perfectly still.
\n\u201cWhat did they find?\u201d
\nMiles looked around the room before answering.
\n\u201cThe account hasn\u2019t been emptied.\u201d
\nNobody reacted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Then he continued.
\n\u201cIt still contains money.\u201d
\nVivian suddenly inhaled so sharply everyone heard it.
\nGrandma noticed.
\n\u201cSo you already knew that.\u201d
\nVivian quickly shook her head.
\n\u201cI\u2026 I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d
\nMiles ignored her.
\n\u201cThe balance should have been nearly zero based on the transactions we already reviewed.\u201d
\nHe looked at Grandma.
\n\u201cBut there is still forty-three thousand, six hundred and twelve dollars remaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t understand.
\n\u201cIf they stole the money\u2026why leave any behind?\u201d
\n\u201cThey didn\u2019t.\u201d
\nMiles replied quietly.
\n\u201cThey couldn\u2019t.\u201d
\nGrandma frowned.
\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d
\n\u201cThe account was frozen two weeks ago.\u201d
\nEvery head turned toward him.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cThe bank detected suspicious activity after someone attempted to transfer another sixty thousand dollars overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The room exploded with questions.
\n\u201cOverseas?\u201d
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cWho tried?\u201d
\nMiles raised his hand.
\n\u201cThe transfer failed because the destination bank flagged the receiving account for possible money laundering.\u201d
\nNobody spoke.
\nHe continued.
\n\u201cThe fraud software automatically restricted every account connected to Natalie Foster Family Relief LLC.\u201d
\nGrandma slowly looked toward Vivian.
\n\u201cYou were still trying to move the money?\u201d
\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Vivian shouted.
\n\u201cI swear I wasn\u2019t!\u201d
\n\u201cThen who was?\u201d
\nShe opened her mouth\u2026
\n\u2026and closed it again.
\nMiles picked up the speakerphone.
\n\u201cThe bank manager is still available.\u201d
\nGrandma nodded.
\n\u201cPut him on.\u201d
\nA calm male voice filled the room.
\n\u201cThis is Daniel Brooks, Senior Fraud Manager.\u201d
\nGrandma introduced herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have one question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho attempted the transfer?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t release names until law enforcement becomes involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grandma\u2019s expression never changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the sender of every dollar in that account.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my attorney is standing beside me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paper shuffled on the other end.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transfer request originated from a computer already registered to the LLC.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miles asked quietly,<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have an IP address?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you identify the location?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another few seconds passed.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe login originated from a residential internet connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt belongs to a house in Denver.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grandma asked,<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose house?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel read directly from the report.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe registered subscriber is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Glenn Foster.\u201d<\/p>\n
My uncle nearly dropped his glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
His face turned white.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivian whipped around.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlenn?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked genuinely stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t do anything!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect us to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grandma asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even know how to log into those accounts!\u201d<\/p>\n
Miles wasn\u2019t convinced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bank also recovered security footage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenn blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecurity footage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe day the LLC account was opened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivian\u2019s confidence disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat footage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe branch required in-person identity verification.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe woman who presented your driver\u2019s license was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
Miles continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe teller became suspicious afterward because the woman refused to remove her sunglasses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grandma folded her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo why wasn\u2019t the account stopped?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe identification passed every electronic verification.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe driver\u2019s license was authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy driver\u2019s license was never missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I whispered.<\/p>\n
Miles looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought back.<\/p>\n
The pregnancy.<\/p>\n
Doctor appointments.<\/p>\n
Baby showers.<\/p>\n
Moving after Owen died.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered.<\/p>\n
Three weeks before Maisie was born\u2026<\/p>\n
Vivian had offered to organize my paperwork while I rested.<\/p>\n
She had taken my purse upstairs for nearly an hour.<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know exactly when she copied my license.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivian\u2019s knees suddenly buckled.<\/p>\n
She grabbed the back of a chair to stay standing.<\/p>\n
For the first time that night\u2026<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t trying to defend herself.<\/p>\n
She looked terrified.<\/p>\n
Because she realized something none of us had yet considered.<\/p>\n
If the bank had security footage\u2026<\/p>\n
Someone else had walked into that branch pretending to be me.<\/p>\n
And if it wasn\u2019t Vivian\u2026<\/p>\n
Then another person had helped steal Grandma\u2019s $180,000.<\/p>\n
Miles\u2019s phone buzzed again.<\/p>\n
He glanced at the screen.<\/p>\n
His expression became even more serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
he said slowly,<\/p>\n
\u201cis from the detective assigned to financial crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grandma narrowed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Miles looked directly at Vivian before answering.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says they already know the name of the woman in the surveillance video.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivian\u2019s lips began to tremble.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe promised she\u2019d never talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Part 3: The Bank Manager\u2019s Discovery Miles answered the call without taking his eyes off the room. \u201cThis is Miles Hart.\u201d The silence was unbearable. Everyone watched his face. After … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6074"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6080,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6074\/revisions\/6080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}