George laughed. “It’s one p.m. in San Diego. I’m sure you can get him on the line.”
“Okay. Yes. I’ll call him.”
“Good luck, and let me know how it goes. If you need me, call.”
“I will. And thank you again, George.”
“My pleasure. Talk soon.”
We ended the call, and I sat back against the headboard and pressed the video call. When he answered, my heart ached for him.
“Hey, you. Are you still in bed? Did you sleep?”
I nodded, taking in his smile and hazel eyes. “Yeah, but your dad just called. The forensic accountant has found something. I have to go meet with him. Where are you?”
He turned the camera around to show me the pool deck.
“Sitting out here for a while with Bella. What time is your appointment?”
“Eight. He’s found enough that he’s going to alert the police.”
Carson frowned. “Make sure you’re safe, okay?”
I nodded. “I will. I almost wish they hadn’t found anything. I just want this to be over. And I have a feeling it’s not going to be any time soon, especially where Leland is concerned.”
“I fucking hate that guy.”
I couldn’t help but smile at his possessive side. “I know you do. So what have you got planned for today?”
We talked until I had to shower and get ready. With a promise to talk tonight, his time, I said goodbye to the love of my life and went to meet with the accountant.
I sat across from Mr. Withers in his downtown office as he laid everything out for me.
“Mr. Kearney, my job as a forensic accountant is to know everything about your finances from the moment you opened your first checking account until you moved your money to an American bank a month ago. After George told me about Mr. Phillips, I went back to your initial signing with the Swarm six years ago, and looked specifically from that time until you froze the accounts in late August.”
My head was spinning with all the details when he announced Detective Jones from the financial fraud unit had arrived and was ready to join our meeting.
Nodding, he went to the door and brought in the detective.
“Mr. Kearney, nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand to shake. “Thank you for allowing me to join. Richard and I felt, since you’re a celebrity, it would be better to handle this here, rather than at the station.”
“Thank you. I want to wrap this up as neatly as possible so as to get back to America.”
He smiled and took a seat at the table. I got up and followed them over.
“Yes, I understand. I have some questions regarding that as well.”
My heart beat erratically at the idea he knew about my contract with the Storm, but then I remembered George had facilitated this meeting to begin with.
“Shall we begin?” Richard asked.
We both agreed as he went back to detail everything once again. When it came down to it, Leland had been misappropriating my money for a long time.
“Over the last four years, Mr. Phillips had diverted over half a million dollars from your accounts to invest in businesses around Australia. Those businesses never existed in the first place. The funds were moved to Mr. Phillips’ account, then moved to a shell corporation for disbursement.”
“So, where is my money?” I asked.
“That’s what I’m going to find out,” Detective Jones added. “My guess is it’s been used for personal gain. If you hadn’t frozen your accounts, there is no telling how much he would have taken.”
