Arthur's Visit

Arthur Pendelton didn't knock. He didn't check in with the receptionist. He simply walked into Elena’s office with the entitlement of a man who owned the building.

It was late afternoon, the sun casting long, bloody shadows across the vineyard. Elena was pretending to review yield projections, but her screen was open to the state medical board’s disciplinary records, searching for Dr. Evans.

"Elena," Arthur said, closing the door behind him. "Working hard, I see."

She minimized the window. "Just catching up, Arthur. The audit threw us behind schedule."

"The audit." He sat in the visitor's chair without being asked, placing his leather briefcase on the floor. "Yes. We should discuss that."

He smoothed his tie. It was silk, patterned with tiny foxes. A predator wearing predators.

"I spoke with Victoria this morning," he said. "She's concerned about you. She feels you're... overextending yourself."

"I'm fine, Arthur."

"Are you? Because I've been reviewing the logs. There seem to be some irregularities in the system access protocols. Unauthorized queries. Attempted overrides." He smiled, a thin stretching of lips over teeth. "It looks like someone is trying to break into the Trust's secure files."

Elena kept her face blank. "The new software has glitches. I've been trying to troubleshoot them."

"Glitches." He chuckled. "That's a polite word for it. You know, Elena, the Trust is a complex organism. It requires a steady hand. Stability. Predictability."

He leaned forward, his elbows on her desk.

"If the Trustees—myself included—were to feel that the current financial officer was becoming a security risk... well. We have a fiduciary duty to protect the assets. Including the children's funds."

Elena felt a cold spike of adrenaline. "The children's funds are in irrevocable trusts. You can't touch them."

"Irrevocable doesn't mean untouchable, Elena. It means they are protected *for* the beneficiaries. But if the guardian of those beneficiaries were deemed... unfit... or if there was evidence of financial mismanagement on her part..."

He let the sentence hang there.

"Are you threatening my children's inheritance?"

"I'm discussing risk management," he said smoothly. "We've noticed some odd transfers lately. Small amounts, but consistent. From the operational accounts to a personal account in your maiden name."

"That's a lie," Elena said. "I haven't taken a dime."

"Haven't you?" Arthur opened his briefcase. He pulled out a single sheet of paper and slid it across the desk.

It was a bank statement. *Elena Rossi.* A checking account she didn't recognize. With monthly deposits of five thousand dollars, stretching back three years.

The exact amount of the "Consulting Fees" paid to Serenity LLC.

"It looks like embezzlement to me," Arthur said softly. "The police would certainly think so. Especially combined with your recent... erratic behavior."

Elena stared at the paper. It was a perfect frame job. They had been setting her up for years. Using her name to wash the money they were spending on Sebastian.

"You won't get away with this," she whispered.

"I already have," Arthur said, standing up. "Because I wrote the rules. Now, be a good girl, Elena. Stop looking for ghosts. Or I'll have to show you what a real haunting looks like."

He picked up his briefcase.

"We wouldn't want any administrative errors to freeze the assets, would we Elena?"