“But there’s one condition.”
“What condition?”
“It’s a large amount. He wants you to transfer it directly from the corporate account. That way everything is easier to track.”
Alexander hesitated.
“From the company account?”
“Yes. He said you have the power to handle the transfer this afternoon.”
“All right. That makes sense.”
“Can you do it today?”
“Yes.”
“To what account do I transfer the money?”
“You can transfer it directly to your personal account. Then you can settle the debts.”
“Perfect, Valentina. Thank you. Really.”
“Nothing to mention, love.”
When Valentina hung up, she knew the plan was in motion. Alexander was so desperate he had agreed to do exactly what she wanted, use the authority of the company to move corporate money into his personal account. That would be enough to charge him with fraud and embezzlement.
She called Richard again.
“Dad, he agreed. He’s going to make the transfer this afternoon.”
“Valentina, are you sure you want to go all the way with this?”
“Absolutely. It’s the only way to make sure he never hurts anyone again.”
“All right. I’ll monitor every movement. And when he makes the transfer?”
“Call the police.”
“I can do that. But where will you be?”
“Away from there. I don’t want to be anywhere near it when they arrest him.”
That afternoon, Valentina left the apartment and went to a café downtown. From there, she called Sophia.
“Today’s the day.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Yes. Alexander is going to try to transfer one hundred thousand from the company today. When he does, Dad will call the police.”
“And after that?”
“After that, he gets arrested for fraud. And he’ll never be able to do this to anyone again.”
At four that afternoon, Richard called.
“Daughter, he did it.”
“How?”
“One hundred thousand dollars from the corporate account into his personal account. I have all the records.”
“And now?”
“Now I call the police.”
“Dad, thank you for trusting me.”
“I hope you know exactly what you’re doing.”
An hour later, Richard called again.
“The police came to the company. Alexander was arrested red-handed.”
“How did he react?”
“At first he denied everything. Then he said you had authorized it. But when I showed that the transfer had been made with the company’s power of attorney, he couldn’t explain himself.”
“And now?”
“Now he’s going to face charges for fraud and improper use of authority. He could spend years in prison.”
Valentina felt a strange mix of relief and sadness. The plan had worked, but it was still painful to see the man she had once imagined building a life with being led away in handcuffs.
“Dad, can I come home now?”
“You can. But Valentina…”
“Yes?”
“You were very brave and very intelligent. You saved our family from a fraud that could have been devastating.”
When Valentina got home, Julian and Dylan were waiting at the door.
“Valentina, we heard what happened,” Julian said.
“And we want to apologize,” Dylan added. “We knew it was wrong, but we didn’t have the courage to do anything.”
“And now what do you want to do?”
“We want to testify against him,” Julian said. “Tell everything we know about his plans.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s the right thing,” Dylan said quietly. “And because you showed more courage than we did.”
Valentina let them in. For two hours, they told her everything they knew about Alexander’s plans, his debts, his previous fraud attempts. Everything was recorded so it could be used later as evidence in court.
When they finally left, Valentina was alone for the first time all day. She sat down on the sofa and cried. Not from sadness. From relief. She was free.
Three days later, Ramirez came to see her.
“As agreed, I came for payment of Alexander’s debts.”
