PART 6: THE TRANSFER IN MY NAME
\nAgent Ross grabbed his phone.
\n\u201cFreeze the transfer. Contact Westbridge\u2019s bank and the receiving institution. Nobody releases a dollar.\u201d
\nMaya Chen examined the emergency alert.
\n\u201cThe authorization came from Lena\u2019s credentials, but the security token was verified from her registered device.\u201d
\n\u201cSo she approved it herself?\u201d I asked.
\n\u201cEither she approved it or Ryan has her phone, password, and physical token.\u201d
\nThe photograph showed Lena sitting willingly beside Ryan.
\nNeither of them looked frightened.
\n\u201cWhat happens if the transfer reaches the account?\u201d my attorney asked.
\n\u201cEmma becomes the recipient of $3.7 million stolen through twelve fraudulent vendors,\u201d Ross said. \u201cIt would make her appear to be the person controlling the entire network.\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019s finishing Phase Two,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Maya called the receiving bank.
\nThe transfer had already left Westbridge.
\nBecause of its size, it had entered a thirty-minute verification hold before being released into the destination account.
\nWe had twenty-six minutes remaining.
\n\u201cWhose bank account is it?\u201d I asked.
\nMaya studied the records.
\n\u201cIt was opened online three weeks ago under your full legal name.\u201d
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t open it.\u201d
\n\u201cIt used your Social Security number, driver\u2019s license, home address, and a video identity verification.\u201d
\n\u201cA video?\u201d
\nShe opened the bank\u2019s verification file.
\nA woman appeared on the screen wearing my navy work blazer. Her hair was styled like mine, and she held my driver\u2019s license beside her face.
\nAt first glance, she looked enough like me to deceive someone.
\nBut when Maya enlarged the image, I recognized the woman\u2019s eyes.
\n\u201cVanessa,\u201d I said.
\nShe had used makeup, a wig, and my stolen identification to open the account.
\n\u201cThe blazer belongs to me,\u201d I added. \u201cIt disappeared from my office before I was terminated.\u201d
\nRoss contacted the room where Vanessa was being held.
\nTwo investigators brought her back.
\nShe entered without looking at me.
\nMaya turned the laptop toward her.
\n\u201cIs this you?\u201d
\nVanessa stared at the verification image.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cLying will invalidate any cooperation agreement you believe you have,\u201d Ross warned.
\n\u201cI want my attorney.\u201d
\n\u201cYou told us Emma opened this account. We now have evidence suggesting you impersonated her.\u201d
\nVanessa looked toward the closed door.
\n\u201cLena said the video would never be reviewed.\u201d
\nThe admission silenced the room.
\n\u201cYou know Lena is the Director,\u201d I said.
\nVanessa closed her eyes.
\n\u201cI never said that.\u201d
\n\u201cYou called the person above Ryan \u2018her.\u2019 The ledger shows payments marked L.O., and Lena disappeared with Ryan.\u201d
\n\u201cShe\u2019ll kill me.\u201d
\nRoss leaned forward. \u201cDid Lena Ortiz direct the shell-company operation?\u201d
\nVanessa\u2019s hands began to tremble.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called it a recovery program.\u201d
\n\u201cRecovering what?\u201d
\n\u201cMoney Westbridge had supposedly hidden from executives through reduced bonuses. She said the company owed them.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you believed her?\u201d
\n\u201cI believed the money.\u201d
\nThere it was.
\nThe same reason Caleb had accepted Ryan\u2019s lies.
\nThe same reason Ryan had justified stealing.
\nGreed dressed in the language of fairness.
\n\u201cHow long has Lena been involved?\u201d Ross asked.
\n\u201cAlmost three years.\u201d
\nI felt sick.
\nI had known Lena for four.
\nShe had encouraged me, recommended me for conferences, and praised my ability to detect patterns.
\nShe hadn\u2019t stayed close because she respected me.
\nShe had been studying me.
\n\u201cWhy did she help me find Northstar?\u201d I asked.
\nVanessa finally looked at me.
\n\u201cShe didn\u2019t help you. She needed to know how much evidence you had.\u201d
\nThe meeting at my parents\u2019 house had never been an act of friendship.
\nLena had come to inspect the damage.
\nShe had taken every document I showed her and learned exactly what I knew.
\n\u201cWhy was Ryan shocked to see her?\u201d I asked.
\n\u201cBecause she told him she would stay away from you. Ryan thought she was choosing him as the person to sacrifice.\u201d
\n\u201cBut she planned to sacrifice both of us,\u201d I said.
\nVanessa nodded.
\n\u201cLena wanted the $3.7 million sent into your account. After the transfer, she planned to give investigators Ryan\u2019s name, disappear, and let you fight over who controlled Northstar.\u201d
\nMaya checked the time.
\nNineteen minutes remained before the transfer would clear.
\n\u201cThe bank needs direct confirmation from the account holder to extend the hold,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI\u2019m the victim, not the account holder.\u201d
\n\u201cLegally, your identity opened it.\u201d
\nShe dialed the bank\u2019s fraud department and placed the call on speaker.
\nThe bank representative asked me five security questions.
\nI answered the first four using information from my credit report.
\nThen she asked for the six-digit verification code sent to the phone connected to the account.
\n\u201cThat isn\u2019t my number,\u201d I said.
\nWithout the code, the bank would not permanently freeze the funds.
\nMaya traced the prepaid phone.
\nIt was active.
\nIt was moving east on Route 16.
\nThe same direction as Ryan\u2019s SUV.
\nMy phone rang.<\/p>\n
This time, Lena\u2019s name appeared.
\nRoss signaled for everyone to remain silent and began tracing the call.
\nI answered.
\n\u201cEmma,\u201d Lena said calmly. \u201cI need your help.\u201d
\n\u201cYou stole $3.7 million and sent it to an account in my name.\u201d
\n\u201cI moved money out of Westbridge before someone else could take it.\u201d
\n\u201cYou expect me to believe you were protecting it?\u201d
\n\u201cThe company is collapsing. Senior executives have been stealing for years.\u201d
\n\u201cYou were one of them.\u201d
\n\u201cI was correcting an imbalance.\u201d
\n\u201cYou mean taking fifteen percent.\u201d
\nShe paused.
\n\u201cSo you saw the ledger.\u201d
\n\u201cYou trained me to follow details.\u201d
\n\u201cI trained you too well.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy did you choose me?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause your record was spotless. People trust spotless records. And when spotless people fall, everyone believes the crime must have been enormous.\u201d
\nThe cruelty in her voice was quieter than Ryan\u2019s.
\nThat made it worse.
\n\u201cYou had Vanessa fire me.\u201d
\n\u201cYou were about to identify four of the shell companies.\u201d
\n\u201cI had identified only one temporary vendor number.\u201d
\n\u201cYou would have found the rest.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere is Ryan?\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019s driving.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d
\n\u201cTo correct his final mistake.\u201d
\nRyan\u2019s voice came from the background.
\n\u201cStop talking to her.\u201d
\nLena ignored him.
\n\u201cThe bank is going to text a verification code to this phone, Emma. You will tell us the code.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy would I do that?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause once the funds clear, I can remove every document bearing your name.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019ll take the money and disappear.\u201d
\n\u201cYou can have your life back.\u201d
\n\u201cMy career is gone. My marriage is gone. My identity has been used to commit fraud. Which part of that life are you offering?\u201d
\n\u201cThe part where you aren\u2019t in prison.\u201d
\nA message flashed across Maya\u2019s laptop.
\nThe bank had sent the code to the prepaid phone in Lena\u2019s possession.
\nThey needed Emma to provide verbal confirmation on the recorded fraud call, but Lena apparently believed she also needed a code sent to my real number.
\nLena was bluffing.
\nShe didn\u2019t understand that the investigators had already intercepted the account-verification process.
\nI needed to keep her talking.
\n\u201cRyan told me Northstar was less than ten percent of the fraud,\u201d I said.
\n\u201cHe talks too much.\u201d
\n\u201cHe also said Westbridge would collapse if the numbers became public.\u201d
\n\u201cHe was right.\u201d
\n\u201cHow much did you steal?\u201d
\n\u201cEnough to make powerful people frightened.\u201d
\n\u201cFour million dollars?\u201d
\nLena laughed softly.
\n\u201cFour million is what Ryan knows about.\u201d
\nRoss wrote a question on a piece of paper and turned it toward me.
\nTOTAL?
\n\u201cHow much is there?\u201d I asked.
\n\u201cMore than thirty-one million dollars moved through the complete network.\u201d
\nEven Vanessa looked shocked.
\n\u201cYou told me four million,\u201d she said.
\nLena heard her.
\n\u201cIs Vanessa there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross shook his head, warning me not to answer.
\nBut Vanessa stepped closer to the phone.
\n\u201cYou used me.\u201d
\n\u201cYou were paid.\u201d
\n\u201cYou promised me a position at Westbridge.\u201d
\n\u201cVanessa, you couldn\u2019t even fabricate a two-year-old report without using a policy that didn\u2019t exist.\u201d
\nVanessa\u2019s face collapsed.
\nLena had always planned to blame her too.
\nEveryone in the scheme believed someone beneath them would take the fall.
\nCaleb would blame Ryan.
\nRyan would blame me.
\nVanessa would blame Ryan.
\nLena would blame all of us.
\nMaya pointed at the map.
\nThe prepaid phone had stopped moving.
\nIts location was an abandoned Westbridge distribution center near the highway.
\nRoss silently dispatched agents.
\n\u201cI won\u2019t confirm the transfer,\u201d I told Lena.
\n\u201cThen the forged records remain.\u201d
\n\u201cThey won\u2019t survive an audit.\u201d
\n\u201cThey don\u2019t need to survive an audit. They need to survive a jury.\u201d
\n\u201cYou made the same mistake Vanessa did.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat mistake?\u201d
\n\u201cYou became arrogant.\u201d
\nFor the first time, Lena lost her calm.
\n\u201cGive me the code.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nThe line disconnected.
\nNine minutes remained on the transfer hold.
\nFederal vehicles surrounded the abandoned distribution center.
\nRoss received updates through an earpiece.
\nAgents found Ryan\u2019s SUV behind the building.
\nThe driver\u2019s door was open.
\nNobody was inside.
\nA prepaid phone rested on the passenger seat beside Lena\u2019s company security token.
\n\u201cThey abandoned the vehicle,\u201d Ross said.
\nMaya examined traffic cameras near the distribution center.
\nA delivery van had left the property four minutes before agents arrived.
\nIts license plate had been covered.
\n\u201cWe lost them,\u201d an investigator said.
\n\u201cNot necessarily,\u201d I replied.
\nI opened the photograph Ryan had sent.
\nThe image showed Lena in the passenger seat and Ryan behind the wheel.
\nA narrow strip of red fabric was reflected in the rear window.
\nIt belonged to the delivery van\u2019s interior partition.
\n\u201cThe photograph wasn\u2019t taken inside Ryan\u2019s SUV,\u201d I said.
\nEveryone looked at me.
\n\u201cIt was staged inside the delivery van. Look at the rear window. Ryan wanted us to track his SUV while they were already using another vehicle.\u201d
\nMaya alerted highway patrol.
\nTraffic cameras found the delivery van traveling west, not east.
\nIt was heading toward a private airfield.
\nFour minutes remained.
\nThe bank called again.<\/p>\n
Because the destination account had been opened through identity theft and was now tied to an active federal investigation, the transfer hold had been extended.
\nThe $3.7 million would not clear.
\nLena\u2019s plan had failed.
\nTwo minutes later, highway patrol stopped the delivery van near the airfield.
\nLena was inside.
\nRyan wasn\u2019t.
\nShe had three passports, $94,000 in cash, and the original security tokens for seven Westbridge accounts.
\nWhen agents arrested her, she claimed Ryan had jumped from the van near an overpass.
\nBut traffic cameras showed no one leaving.
\nThe driver was a man Lena had paid.
\nRyan had never been inside the van.
\nHe had used Lena exactly as she had used everyone else.
\nBy the time they brought Lena to the federal building, her confidence was gone.
\nShe refused to answer questions until she saw me.
\n\u201cYou let him escape,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cYou taught him to sacrifice the person closest to him.\u201d
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t understand what he\u2019s capable of.\u201d
\n\u201cI understand perfectly.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, Emma. You\u2019ve only seen Phase Two.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\n\u201cWhat is Phase Three?\u201d
\n\u201cThe loan against your parents\u2019 house.\u201d
\n\u201cThen what is Phase Four?\u201d
\nLena looked toward Ross.
\n\u201cI want a written agreement.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re not negotiating with her,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cShe needs to know. Ryan designed Phase Four himself.\u201d
\nMy phone rang.
\nMOM appeared on the screen.
\nI answered immediately.
\n\u201cMom?\u201d
\n\u201cEmma, is your father with you?\u201d
\nI looked around the room.
\n\u201cNo. I thought he was with you.\u201d
\n\u201cHe left over an hour ago. He said he was going to your house to collect the blue mortgage folder for the investigators.\u201d
\nThe blue folder was already in federal evidence.
\nMy father had no reason to go back.
\nUnless someone had called him and claimed it was needed.
\nI opened the security application for my house.
\nThe living-room camera was offline.
\nThe kitchen camera was still active.
\nAt first, the room appeared empty.
\nThen Ryan walked into view.
\nHe looked directly at the camera and smiled.
\nMy father sat at the kitchen table behind him.
\nHis wrists were secured to the chair.
\nRyan placed a stack of property documents in front of him and held up a pen.
\nThen he spoke clearly enough for the camera to record every word.
\n\u201cCome home alone, Emma, or this time your father signs the papers for real.\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n
PART 6: THE TRANSFER IN MY NAME Agent Ross grabbed his phone. \u201cFreeze the transfer. Contact Westbridge\u2019s bank and the receiving institution. Nobody releases a dollar.\u201d Maya Chen examined the … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6228","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\/6228","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=6228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6234,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6228\/revisions\/6234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}