Little White Lies

Chapter 15

The White Mansion was quiet. Garlands hung half-on half-off windows and boxes lie abandoned on the path into the house. In the living room, a group gathered around the coffee table and on it was a stack of papers.

"This has to be a joke," Eva shouted. She stomped and screamed, making the others wince. "We can't have no money."

"The company assets are seized by the police, not that there's much left. I—I thought they have embezzled all the money but there's none left in the White Foundation, the family account, or your trust. Even the estate is mortgaged for," David said. "The money that we saw was the rest of it. Funds that were borrowed around. That must be why the police released it; there's no sign of where the embezzled money went."

"There must be a mistake!" Eva insisted and began pacing. Eric exchanged a look with David and went to his adoptive sister. "We have tripled, quadruple checked everything. If there is money somewhere, it's not here."

Eva screamed again and turned to the doorway. "Benson!"

The elderly butler appeared, poised as always, and bowed slightly. "How might I help, Miss White?"

"Where. Is. The. Money?" she asked through gritted teeth. Benson remained unwavering under her mood.

"Can you be more specific, Miss White?" he asked and sent Eva into another screaming fit. David and Eric both took a step back and watched as she stormed towards the butler."The family money!" she waved the papers at Benson. They were notes from banks notifying them about insufficient funds to carry on the accounts. It was inaccurate to say that there was no money. There were a couple of thousand dollars cobbled together, but nothing compared to the perceived wealth of the White Jewelry Company.

Benson shrugged uncharacteristically. "Mr and Ms White never discuss financial matters with me," he said politely. Eva narrowed her eyes in suspicion and Eric stepped in."He just works here," Eric said softly and steered Eva back to the sofa. She slammed the papers down and started pulling at her hair.

"It doesn't make any sense. Why would they have no money?" Eva muttered. David was drumming his fingers on the table, deep in thought and she snapped at him. "Can you stop doing that? It's annoying!"

"Why don't we ask our parents?" Eric piqued up, quickly amending. "I mean my parents. Yours trusted you to them, maybe they know something?"

Eva looked marginally pacified and the group migrated to the study. As Eric made a call to his parents, David turned on the computer. Eva watched them, pacing around the room, full of nervous energy.

"Hey," Eric said and Eva's attention snapped towards him. She gestured for him to turn on the speakerphone and he obliged.

"Hi honey, how is everything?" his mother said, and he could make out his father's speaking in the background. "We were just thinking about you."

Eric's heart warmed then plummeted as his thoughts drifted to Candice. They hadn't heard from her since the day she left. He had checked the university but it seemed she simply never showed up. They had assumed she was still on leave to deal with her parents' death and Eric didn't contradict.