“So we’re still running in circles?” Steel frowns.
“Not exactly. When the deposits were a dead end, I started digging into the transfers, focusing on the largest ones first. He splits his money between LLCs, trusts, and corporations. Except for a few monthly deposits to a personal account. They’re smaller compared to the rest, so it didn’t set up any red flags at first until I realized they were all going to the same place… Which is when I noticed the name on the account.”
My blood runs cold, knowing what he’s going to say before he says it. “They’re in Emery’s name?”
All eyes move to me, and Legacy nods. “It makes sense. He’s hiding his money under her name, so he’ll need her back to eventually access it.”
“Then why not keep her when the Feds took her?”
“Overplaying his hand?” Steel guesses. “Ego maybe? He obviously thinks Emery will do anything he asks if he sent her back in here expecting her to turn on her own husband.”
“Do you think she knows about the accounts?” Havoc asks, and my eyes narrow, hating that he’d even ask that.
“It doesn’t seem like it. She’s never withdrawn anything from them.” Legacy shakes his head. “And she’s not tied to Zane’s organization in any other way. Her name isn’t on any other accounts. It’s entirely separate by design. If he loses everything, those funds are protected because his name isn’t on them.”
“It’s his insurance plan.” My teeth clench.
Of course, Zane is using Emery to hide money. Like she said, he doesn’t care that she’s his niece. To him, she’s something to be used.
“Zane will need Emery to access the money,” Legacy says. “He’s housing it in a notoriously strict bank. Withdrawal and account closure requests can only be made in person. She’ll have to be there to authorize anything.”
“She won’t help him.”
“Even if he gives her no other choice?” Steel counters, and my stomach churns.
Charlie.
My hands clench, and I wish we’d kept the assholes from the warehouse alive so I could release some of this frustration. With the club on lockdown, there’s barely anyone going in or out, including us. Which means there’s nothing I can do but sit around and wait until we have a plan.
It’s fucking aggravating.
“There’s more.” Ghost is the one to speak up this time, looking from Legacy to Steel and then setting his attention on me.
I glance at Chaos, who shrugs. Clearly, he has no clue what they’re going to tell me either.
“Why do I get a bad feeling about what’s coming next?”
“Sorry, brother,” Legacy says. “When I was tracing Zane’s money, I noticed something that felt off around the time he opened the account in Emery’s name. The first deposit was right after her parents’ car accident when she was six years old.”
“That makes sense if that’s when she started living with him. Until she turned eighteen, any money that he moved to her would still be his to do with as he pleased.”
Legacy nods. “Except there was another payment for that exact same amount made at that same time. Zane transferred the majority of his liquid assets into Emery’s account, but another chunk was sent somewhere else. To a family with the last name Williamson.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?” I rack my brain, trying to remember where I’ve heard it—or read it—which is when it hits me. “The drunk driver who killed Emery’s parents was Trent Williamson.”
“Yeah.” Legacy clears his throat. “His family received a large payment less than a month after the accident. The money was initially deposited into a trust, which was controlled by an LLC that wasn’t tied to them. It wasn’t moved out until after the investigation was closed.”
“Why would Zane be paying off the family of the man who killed his brother?” My teeth grit.
“It looks like—”
“I know what it looks like. Fuck.” I tip my head back, taking a deep breath. “Zane killed his own fucking brother and paid off the guy by settling with his family. Was he trying to kill her as well?”
Ghost shakes his head, cutting in. “The airbags up front are all that malfunctioned. We think he intended to keep her alive, or he would have had the seatbelts tampered with instead. He needed her.”
“She was six,” I point out.
“I know.” Ghost ignores that I snapped at him. “It looks like her father was the co-owner of the first casino Zane opened. Zane couldn’t have done it without him. They built the empire together.”
