Chapter 6
Gavin did not understand what Taylor recognized.
That was his next mistake.
He thought financial records were safe if they looked complicated.
He thought Hannah would be too frightened to challenge him.
He thought Zoe was too young to matter.
He thought Taylor was too old.
Taylor placed the folder beside his open laptop.
Gavin stepped forward.
Poppy shifted near the door.
Not dramatically.
Enough.
Gavin stopped.
Taylor removed a small encrypted storage device from Poppy’s hand and connected it to the laptop.
“What are you doing?” Gavin demanded.
“Comparing patterns.”
“You can’t access my computer.”
Taylor looked at him.
“You left it open.”
“That doesn’t give you permission.”
Hannah spoke from behind her.
“You didn’t ask permission to empty Zoe’s fund.”
Gavin turned on her.
“I moved family assets.”
Taylor’s voice cut in.
“Through contractor identifiers?”
Gavin froze.
A tiny freeze.
Almost invisible.
But Taylor saw it.
So did Poppy.
Hannah saw it too, and something in her posture changed.
For weeks, Gavin had made her feel foolish for asking questions.
Now Taylor had read one page and found the word that scared him.
Taylor looked down at the screen as file thumbnails appeared without readable text.
“Then he left me a battlefield full of records.”
Gavin’s anger thinned into fear.
He glanced toward the hallway.
The office.
The side door.
The back exit.
Taylor noticed every glance.
“You’re thinking about leaving,” she said.
Gavin smiled tightly.
“You’re imagining things.”
May you like
“No,” Taylor said. “You are.”
Read the full story 👉 Taylor read Gavin’s financial trail faster than he could hide his reaction, and Hannah finally saw his fear.
