Jonathan entered the cottage without waiting for an invitation.
His expression was calm, but his eyes moved quickly across the room, taking in the documents on the table and the metal box beside Eleanor.
“I hoped we could resolve this privately,” he said.
Alexander stepped between him and the evidence.
“You told us you were protecting the records.”
“I was.”
“You concealed the truth about Northbridge Capital.”
Jonathan removed his gloves.
“I made decisions that I believed were necessary to protect the company.”
“By framing Daniel Carter?”
“Daniel was going to expose a financial arrangement that involved powerful investors. If the entire network had collapsed, thousands of people would have lost their savings.”
Emily stared at him.
“So you destroyed my father’s reputation to protect wealthy people?”
Jonathan’s expression hardened.
“Your father was an innocent man who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. I regret what happened to him.”
“That isn’t an apology.”
“No. It is an explanation.”
Eleanor stood.
“You had the opportunity to correct the record after Daniel died. You chose not to.”
Jonathan looked at her.
“Because by then, the damage was already done. The documents had been altered, the investigation had closed, and the money had disappeared.”
“Where did the money go?” Alexander demanded.
Jonathan placed his briefcase on the table.
“Some went to investors. Some was used to cover losses. Some was transferred into accounts controlled by Margaret Hale.”
“How much?”
“Approximately twelve million dollars.”
“Where is it now?”
Jonathan opened the briefcase and removed a set of bank statements.
“Most of it was moved through a series of companies. The final account was closed years ago.”
Rebecca examined the papers remotely through a secure video call.
