We spent the next forty-eight hours tracing Northbridge Holdings.
The company had no public office.
Its listed address belonged to a small commercial building in Delaware.
Its corporate filings named a management service rather than an individual owner.
That alone wasn't illegal.
But the pattern around it was troubling.
Northbridge had received money from Vance Development.
A second company had then transferred money into Northbridge.
That company had a connection to an account associated with Caleb.
The trail kept folding back on itself.
Every path ended one step short of a person.
Until Julian's forensic team found an old banking record.
One payment had been authorized through a private account linked to Thomas Vance.
My father.
I sat in silence.
“So he knew,” I said.
Julian didn't answer immediately.
“We don't know what he knew.”
“But he signed it.”
“Yes.”
“That isn't nothing.”
“No.”
I looked down at the report.
For years, I had wanted one clear explanation for why my father had always protected Caleb.
I had assumed favoritism.
Maybe there had been more.
My mother called that afternoon.
I almost ignored her.
Then I answered.
“Chloe?”
“Yes.”
“You need to stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Looking into Northbridge.”
My chest tightened.
“How do you know I'm looking into it?”
Silence.
That silence told me more than her answer could have.
“Mom.”
She exhaled.
“Your father made mistakes.”
“That's not an answer.”
“He thought he was protecting the family.”
“From what?”
She didn't respond.
“From Caleb?”
Another pause.
“From everything.”
I stood and walked toward the window.
“What does that mean?”
“I can't explain this over the phone.”
“Then explain it in person.”
She hesitated.
“Tonight.”
We met at a quiet restaurant away from downtown.
My mother looked smaller than I remembered.
She hadn't worn makeup.
Her hands trembled around her water glass.
“Your father didn't create Northbridge,” she said.
I waited.
“Caleb did.”
I frowned.
“Then why did Dad authorize the transfer?”
“Because Caleb told him the money would save the company.”
“Save it from what?”
My mother looked away.
“Debts.”
“What debts?”
She closed her eyes.
“Personal debts.”
The answer didn't fit.
Caleb had always lived extravagantly, but he wasn't known to be drowning in debt.
“What kind?”
My mother finally looked at me.
“Gambling.”
I felt numb.
She told me Caleb had accumulated substantial private debts years earlier.
When creditors began pressing him, he secretly diverted company money.
My father discovered it.
Instead of reporting him, he tried to cover the missing funds.
He believed Caleb could repay everything.
He was wrong.
The hole grew.
Then more money was moved to conceal the first transfers.
I sat back.
“So Dad knew.”
“Yes.”
“And he still blamed me.”
My mother's eyes filled with tears.
“He was ashamed.”
“Of Caleb?”
“Of himself.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn't excuse what he did.”
“No.”
She reached across the table.
“I know.”
I pulled my hand away.
“Why did you call Noah fatherless?”
Her face collapsed.
“I was angry.”
“At me?”
“At the situation.”
“You looked at my baby and used him to punish me.”
“I know.”
“You refused to hold him.”
“I know.”
Her voice broke.
“I regret it.”
I believed that she regretted it.
But regret didn't erase words.
“What else haven't you told me?”
She looked toward the window.
“Your father was going to sell his controlling interest.”
I stared at her.
“To whom?”
“I don't know.”
“Mom.”
“I swear.”
She lowered her voice.
“He said there was an investor who could rescue the company.”
“Northbridge?”
“I don't know.”
That was when my phone rang.
Julian.
I answered.
“What's wrong?”
“Where are you?”
“With my mother.”
“Leave.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“We found the person behind Northbridge.”
My mother saw my expression.
Julian continued.
“It isn't a stranger.”
I stood.
“Who is it?”
“We need you somewhere secure before I tell you.”
I looked at my mother.
“Julian, tell me.”
A pause.
Then his voice came quietly through the phone.
“It's your brother.”
I closed my eyes.
“I thought you said Caleb created it.”
“He did.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
Julian's next words stopped me cold.
“Northbridge wasn't designed to hide money from Vance Development.”
I waited.
“It was designed to hide who owned the debt.”
I looked at my mother.
She was staring at me.
And suddenly I realized she had known there was another piece.
She just hadn't known what it was.
Click here to continue reading: PART 7: My Brother’s Secret Was Worse Than Theft, and the Documents He Left Behind Explained Why My Father Had Risked Everything
They Came to My Hospital Bed Expecting a Broken Daughter, but the Papers They Brought Revealed What They Really Wanted
Part 6 of 10
