‘I know,’ he confirmed quietly.
‘My father did not steal from his own company, if that’s what you’re implying!’ Her hands were clenched at her sides.
‘Of course not.’
‘Then who did?’
Gregorio shrugged his shoulders. ‘Only a limited number of people had the means, and access to the bank accounts affected.’
She frowned as she thought over what Gregorio had told her.
He’d said her father had withdrawn from the negotiations to sell Fairbanks Industries. That he had done so because he had discovered someone had been stealing from his company.
But who?
As Gregorio had said, only a few people had access to the company bank accounts.
Her father, obviously.
And Lia, as a precaution—in case anything should ever happen to him and she needed access, he’d explained. How ironic that was, in the circumstances.
The two vice presidents of the company...
The accounts department only had limited access—not enough to be able to transfer funds from company accounts to another one.
There was no one else except—
Lia gave Gregorio a startled glance. ‘Do you happen to know who he suspected?’
‘I think you have already guessed the answer to that question.’
There was only one answer, if she eliminated everyone else. But it simply wasn’t an answer Lia could give any credence to.
David had not only been her father’s lawyer but her fiancé when the embezzlement had supposedly taken place. Besides which, his family was incredibly wealthy. There was no incentive for David to steal money from her father’s company.
Lord knew she had no reason to think kindly of David, after he had let her down so badly, but she simply couldn’t believe the man she had intended to marry was capable of the things Gregorio had just revealed to her.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘YOU’RE WRONG.’ SHE gave a firm shake of her head.
Gregorio had watched the play of emotions on Lia’s face. Puzzlement. Dawning realisation. Shock. Doubt. Followed seconds later by this outright denial.
‘Are you saying that because you know I’m wrong or because you hope that I am...?’
She looked at him blankly for several seconds. ‘I’ll admit David ultimately proved not to be the man I thought he was when I agreed to marry him, but he isn’t the thief you’re implying he is either.’
‘Again, I ask—is that because you know for certain I’m wrong or because you don’t want to believe I’m right?’
She straightened her shoulders defensively. ‘David comes from a wealthy family. He’s a partner in one of the most prestigious law firms in London. His father owns that law firm, for goodness’ sake.’
‘And you consider that proof of his innocence?’
‘Well. No. Of course it isn’t proof.’ She shot Gregorio an impatient glance. ‘But there is absolutely no reason why he would have stolen from my father.’ Her chin rose in stubborn denial. ‘David is a wealthy man in his own right.’
‘My sources tell me that Richardson has a serious gambling habit.’
‘Then your sources are wrong.’ She gave a disgusted shake of her head. ‘I went out with David for a year, was engaged to him for three months. David doesn’t gamble.’