Daniel comes home after a year of military service, hoping to surprise his sister on her wedding day. But instead of welcoming him happily, Margaret glares at him and orders him to leave immediately.
Daniel hailed a taxi as he exited the airport, barely able to contain his excitement. It had taken much pleading with his seniors in the Army to get this one-week break for his little sister’s wedding.
But he had made it happen. After their parents’ deaths, Daniel always felt responsible for Margaret, even after she became an adult. He was looking forward to her wedding because it was a chance to bridge the gap between them.
They both knew how distant they’d become as adults. The taxi stopped outside the venue. Daniel entered the restaurant, clutching Margaret’s favorite lilies, and spotted her in a wedding gown at a table, her husband, Gary, by her side…
“Hello, sis!” Daniel exclaimed happily, approaching her.
Margaret’s face twisted with anger. “How dare you come here after what you did, Daniel?” she fumed as she sprang to her feet.
Daniel was confused. “Wh-what did I do?”
“Stop playing games, Daniel!” she snapped.
“The vault…Mom and Dad’s inheritance for us…It’s gone!”
Daniel listened in shock as Margaret narrated how she’d wanted to take their mother’s jewelry from the vault before the wedding but found it empty. Since nobody but Daniel and Margaret knew about the vault, Margaret suspected Daniel was the one who emptied it. “You better leave now, Danny.
We’ll sort this out later!” Margaret said hurtfully as she began returning to her seat. But Daniel grabbed her hand. “I didn’t take anything, Maggie!
How could you even accuse me of that?”
“Stop it, Daniel,” Gary stepped in. “Don’t ruin your sister’s big day. And please, leave now.”
Extremely hurt and confused, Daniel left the venue.
He checked into a motel for his temporary stay. The next day, Daniel visited the bank where the vault was. He approached the customer assistance desk and inquired if he could get the vault’s access history.
The woman at the desk asked for his details and revealed the vault was accessed on the 15th of the last month by Mr. Goodwin’s son. Daniel was shocked because he was away at the time.
“Can you tell me who authorized it? Were any documents signed?” he asked. “Yes.
The papers have a digital signature from D. Goodwin,” the woman said, looking at her screen. “And a bank associate witnessed the access.”
“Someone must’ve impersonated me!
I need to check the CCTVs.”
“Sorry, sir. We can’t allow you to access it.”
“Look, this isn’t a typical situation,” Daniel said and discretely slid $1000 toward her. “Over half a million dollars have disappeared, ma’am.
Please.”
The woman paused for a while, then accepted the money. “Fine. But prepare another $200 for the security guard outside the video room,” she said.
Ten minutes later, Daniel was in the recording room. “What date and time are we looking for?” the guard sitting before the screens asked. “The 15th of last month.
Around late afternoon,” Daniel replied. The guard typed something on the keyboard and frowned. “Strange,” he said.
“The footage from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. that day is gone.”
“What?
Who can access and modify these recordings?”
“Basically, every security guard on duty and certain bank officials,” the guard replied. There wasn’t much he could do now, so Daniel exited the bank. He was standing on the sidewalk, thinking about his next step, when he happened to turn around and see a familiar face through the bank’s glass door.
Gary? Things started making sense to Daniel. Gary worked at the bank.
He could’ve easily accessed the vault, emptied it, and then deleted the footage.
“Didn’t know you worked at this bank, Gary,” Daniel sarcastically remarked, approaching him. “Ah, Daniel!” Gary was composed, but Daniel could sense it was a facade. “What brings you here?”
“Isn’t it strange that the bank you work at, which houses the vault that only my sister and I know about, was emptied?
And now the footage from that day is gone too.”
“Come on, Daniel. You’re connecting dots that don’t exist.”
“You expect me to believe it’s all a coincidence? Half a million dollars are gone, Gary!
And I will get to the bottom of it! Wait for it!”
Daniel left the bank and drove home to Margaret. When he arrived, he noticed the lights were off and the curtains were drawn.
Margaret’s car was not in the driveway, which meant she wasn’t home. He parked his car across the street, looked for the spare key where it was always kept, and found his way in. He hoped to find something that would prove Gary was lying.
Daniel started searching Gary and Margaret’s bedroom. He looked under the sofa and searched the bedside tables, but nothing. He went through the dresser, and while he was going through the top drawer, his finger brushed against cold metal.
He retrieved it to find his mother’s watch. Daniel now had proof that Gary had accessed the things inside the safe and immediately called Margaret. Within 20 minutes, she was home.
“Recognize this?” he asked, holding up the watch as she entered. “This was in the vault, Maggie! Proof that Gary is playing games with us!
He probably left it lying around because he didn’t know its value. It even has the engraving, so it’s clearly Mom’s!”
“Are you serious, Daniel? First, you sneak into my house, and now you accuse my husband of theft?” she yelled.
The story doesn’t end here — it continues on the next page to discover the rest 🔎👇
