Chương 60: Book 3 - Chapter 4 D

"Mom, we'll be fine," I told her again a few days later.

"You and Dad deserve a break. We'll go to the Caymans with Grandma and Grandpa. I told you I was going to take a break. Matt's on vacation, I need a vacation too." She unnecessarily straightened my shirt again.

"Okay, I just worry you are going to run off someday, and I won't see you again."

"It'll be fine, Mary," Dad said with a smile watching her fuss.

"They have a plane all to themselves, plus a full security team."

"Why do they get a private charter, and we have to fly commercial?" Mom asked him.

"I got you first class tickets, but you only have two security guards with you, so a charter plane wasn't needed," Grandpa defended. Their trip was a technically for business. We hugged goodbye, and they headed through the gate into the plane. Grandma turned to me and Mattie.

"Well I'm up for some sand and sun. How about you?" she asked.

"Sun and sand!" Mattie cheered in echo.

"I'm going to build the biggest, most amazing sand castle ever!" Mattie bounced on the balls of her feet in the excitement of another plane ride. The speed thrilled her. In Grand Cayman, at a very private bank, we started a new holding company. Cook Island Investments. Then we deposited the 'Cocoanut Treasure' as it was now being referred to, updating the outstanding shares, and another account for my fifteen million.

"Why are you on the computer when you're on vacation?" Grandma asked me.

"I'm checking my new bank account," I told her.

"Well, I've coated Mattie in sunblock and we are headed to the beach."

"Okay, have fun. I'll be down in a couple hours when it's cooler." Grandpa looked over my shoulder at what I was working on.

"Where in the world did you even get a computer?"

"I had it shipped to the hotel," I told him.

"But we just made these reservations the day before leaving."

"I knew where we were going, so shipped it two weeks ago. It just arrived this morning and the hotel staff brought it up."

"The security company chose this place!" Grandpa said excitedly.

"Calm down, Grandpa, and pull up a chair." He pulled a chair over and sat next to me. When the modem gave its awful screech, he jumped up in surprise.

"What the hell is that?"

"That's the modem. This computer is using the telephone line to connect directly to a bank computer. This is the future, Grandpa–instant access to our accounts from anywhere in the world."

"The screeching stopped," he observed, sitting back down.

"It finished connecting."

"What are you going to do? Are you going to hack the bank?" Grandpa asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"No need, Grandpa. There are a great many accounts in the world that have lost their owners. No one but the bank knows about those dead accounts and the bank isn't saying anything. They can keep loaning out the money and paying minimal interest to a fund that only grows their balance sheet."

"I thought dead accounts reverted to the bank?"

"No, in the US, unclaimed funds from dead accounts are typically transferred to the State's abandoned property division. The State then holds onto the money until someone proves it's theirs. In Switzerland, there currently is no law about dead accounts and they just hold on to it."

"So, vast fortunes are just accumulating there, untouched?"

"Billions and billions. In a few years the banks in Switzerland will face lawsuits, forcing them to open up their records and attempt to locate the heirs. Some accounts only have a few hundred thousand, some a few million."

"So you are going to take the unclaimed money?" he asked. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"There are tens of thousands of accounts around the world like this, most of them are more recent. Somebody stole or embezzled funds and deposited them in places like Switzerland or the Caymans, or somewhere else they thought would protect their privacy and was secure. Usually outside their own country."

"But won't those people miss their money?" Grandpa asked, worriedly.

"What if they discover you've taken it!"

"I'm just going to take the money from the ones who didn't survive their crimes long enough to retrieve it." He watched me on the computer for a bit.

"So you are connected to the local bank?"

"No, the bank I'm connected to right now is in Switzerland. But I can transfer the money using their system to my new Cayman account."

"This isn't very fun to watch. You are just clicking and typing in numbers."

"I am authorizing the transfer and providing the account to transfer the funds into. It's not automated, the people who work there do the actual transfers after they receive my authorization."

"How much are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'll just work on it for an hour or two a day. There's no rush."

"Well, I'm going to the beach too."

"Remember your sunblock and Grandma forgot her hat," I said as he headed out of the room. Since my gift lets me know the account numbers and access codes, I started siphoning off funds. I was going to be spending a lot of money in the next year. At the end of the week Grandpa and I visited our bank again. It was starkly modern and formal compared to most of the businesses on the island. We were warmly welcomed, the bank manager stepping forward with a practiced smile.

"Gentlemen, please, have a seat. Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine," Grandpa said.

"I'll have a Dr Pepper," I told him.

"I'm not sure if we have that," he said, nervously.

"I'm sure you do," I told him.

"Let me go check on that," he said, and hurried from the room. I leaned over to Grandpa, my voice low.

"When he gets to my bank balance, just smile and breathe."

"Why, what's wrong with your bank balance?" Grandpa asked.

"Nothing at all, just try to be calm. Seriously. If you start losing it, just smile and breathe."

"Jesus H Christ! I swear you're going to kill me one day." I smiled as the man brought in a can of Dr Pepper and a large glass filled with ice. I served myself, pouring the dark liquid with a foaming hiss of carbonation. I took a grateful sip as he settled back behind his desk.

"Gentlemen, it's wonderful to have you back," the Banker greeted, settling back in his comfortable chair.

"We are first interested in knowing the current value of the stock we brought in," Grandpa told him.

"Excellent news, the stock certificates have been fully updated, and confirmed by the various companies involved. The total value of the stocks, after decades of appreciation and many stock splits, now sits at around two hundred seventy-five million."

"That is excellent," I said, as Grandpa smiled and breathed, "but what about dividends over the years?"

"Yes, that is an issue. That will take some time, but the staff has reviewed some old records. The estimate is between forty-five and sixty-five million. It will take some time to track where the funds went. In the United States, much of the time funds like these get transferred to the State, which holds them in trust until they are claimed."

"Well, keep working on it," Grandpa said and went back to smiling and breathing.

"In addition to the back dividends, the State will also have to pay interest on the funds it has been holding for you. That may be as much as an additional one hundred million. It's very exciting and fascinating work, piecing together these financial histories."

"Considering you'll get a cut of the proceeds, I'm sure it's very exciting for you," I remarked dryly.

"Well, that's exciting too, but some of these stock certificates are incredible artifacts. Look at this," he said, gesturing at a plastic covered sheet of yellowed paper.

"I've never seen a Studebaker-Packard stock certificate before. They went out of business in nineteen sixty-six."

"So it's worthless?" Grandpa asked.

"Not entirely, but yes," he answered, and Grandpa looked at me for an explanation.

"It's a unique collector's item, but worth less than fifty bucks," I answered.

"Oh. Okay. Is there anything else?" Grandpa asked.

"There is the matter of your grandsons account."

"Yes, what's the problem?" Grandpa asked, his brow furrowing with concern.

"It's had a number of transfers into it from banks all over the world."

"What's the current balance?" I asked, as Grandpa smiled and breathed.

"It's currently just over eight hundred million."

"Well, it seems not all of the transfers have completed yet. I'm expecting it to go well over nine hundred million," I told him. Grandpa nodded in agreement rapidly, and continued to smile and breathe.

"I look forward to seeing that happen. Will the funds be there long?" he asked pointedly.

"We haven't determined yet. It'll depend on your bank continuing its very private reputation."

"You can be assured that all your information is strictly confidential. Only your ownership file has your name, all the accounts are referenced by number only."

"Excellent, thank you for the update. We will be returning to the United States tomorrow."

"I hope you have a safe and pleasant trip. If anything comes up, I'll be sure to contact you immediately." Grandpa managed a weak, "Thank you," as he stood, clearly relieved the conversation was over. We exited the office, and I gave a subtle nod to the security team waiting discreetly nearby. They helped Grandpa out to the waiting vehicle, and we went back to the hotel to pack for our return home.