Chapter 12: Bank Records, Tracing Every Dollar

After the summons was served, the first thing Noah did was file a motion with the court to obtain Liam's bank records.

When Liam received the notice, he was lying in a massage chair inside his mansion.

"They want to look at my accounts?"

He looked at his lawyer.

"Let them. There are nothing but normal business expenses in there."

His lawyer, Attorney Chen, came from a small firm.

Sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

"Mr. Carter, you're dealing with Noah White."

"If he's asking for your bank records, he definitely has a reason."

"What is there to be afraid of?"

Liam looked completely unconcerned.

"They can only see my Silicon Valley accounts."

He smiled smugly.

He forgot one thing.

Once money moves through a bank account, it leaves a trail.

Three days after the application was filed, Liam suddenly became nervous.

He remembered the money he'd sent to the casino.

He remembered all those receipts labeled "business entertainment."

"They won't find it."

He reassured himself.

"There are too many transactions. They'll never trace them all."

What he didn't know was that tracing financial transactions was precisely what Noah was best at.

One week later, in Noah's office—

Printed bank records covered the entire conference table.

Dozens of pages.

Every single transaction was highlighted.

The first transfer.

On the same day the money arrived, forty-eight thousand dollars went to a Porsche dealership.

The second.

Three days after the funds arrived, sixty thousand dollars went toward a six-month lease on a luxury apartment.

The third.

Five days later, twenty thousand dollars went to a casino VIP room.

The fourth.

Ten days later, thirty-two thousand dollars went toward a high-end club membership.

Fifth.

Sixth.

Seventh.

Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

From the moment Liam received it, almost none of it ever left the consumer market.

Research and development expenses:

Zero.

Servers:

Zero.

Office space:

Zero.

Noah flipped over the final page and slid it across the table to Erin.

"Guess what he's going to tell the judge?"

Erin stared at the glaring numbers.

Her eyes burned.

But she didn't cry.

She thought of the Porsche.

The luxury penthouse.

The women she'd never seen but who had clearly occupied his nights at those exclusive clubs.

She pressed her lips together and swallowed her tears.

"It's not worth crying over."

Her voice was quiet.

"I want him unable to laugh again."

"He can't explain it."

She stared at the records.

"He can't."

Noah nodded.

"So he has only two choices."

"Confess."

"Or come up with an even stupider lie."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

The assistant stepped inside.

"Mr. White, Liam's lawyer is on the phone."

Noah picked it up.

After listening for a few seconds, his eyebrow rose.

"An out-of-court settlement?"

He glanced at Erin, then switched the call to speakerphone.

"Mr. White," Attorney Chen said from the other end.

"My client is willing to return part of the money, provided Ms. Hayes withdraws the lawsuit and both parties sign a confidentiality agreement."

"How much?"

Noah asked.

"Fifty thousand dollars."

The office fell silent for two seconds.

Erin suddenly laughed.

She picked up a pen.

On a note pad, she wrote three words.

Then she pushed it toward Noah.

Noah looked at it.

Then he said into the phone,

"Attorney Chen, relay a message to Mr. Carter."

"What message?"

"Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars."

Noah's voice was calm.

"Every cent, plus interest."

"Otherwise, we'll see him in court."

There was a long silence on the other end.

Then the call ended.

Erin looked out the window.

"Fifty thousand?"

She laughed softly.

"He thinks I still care about the money."

"What I want is for him to lose everything."

Noah looked at her.

He didn't argue.

For the first time, he realized—

This woman was not simple.