PART 3
I opened the folder.
The first page was a single sheet.
At the top was the logo of Harrington Group.
Beneath it, in bold black letters:
PRELIMINARY FORENSIC ACCOUNTING REVIEW
Madison leaned forward.
“What is that?”
I slid the first page across the table.
She glanced at it.
Then her face changed.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
Fear.
Not embarrassment.
Not anger.
Fear.
Charles noticed.
“What does it say?”
Madison quickly pulled the page toward herself.
“Nothing.”
I almost smiled.
“That’s interesting.”
“What?”
“You didn’t even read the second page.”
Madison’s fingers tightened around the paper.
Daniel looked at her.
“Madison?”
She didn’t answer.
Charles reached for the document.
She pulled it away.
“Dad, it’s nothing.”
I looked at Charles.
“Then you won’t mind reading it.”
He snatched the page from her hand.
His eyes moved down the first paragraph.
Then the second.
His face became increasingly rigid.
“What is this?”
“Exactly what it says.”
He looked at me.
“This isn’t authorized.”
“It doesn’t need to be.”
“I am the chairman of this company.”
“And I’m the person who signed the bank guarantee.”
Silence.
That sentence landed differently.
Daniel’s face went pale.
Charles slowly placed the document on the table.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I already did.”
I reached into the folder and removed another document.
Then another.
Then another.
The stack seemed endless.
Daniel finally whispered, “How long have you been doing this?”
“Six months.”
Madison shot up from her chair.
“You’ve been investigating me?”
“I’ve been investigating the company’s financial records.”
“You went through my personal expenses!”
“Expenses charged to a corporate account aren’t personal.”
“You had no right!”
“I had every right.”
I turned the page toward her.
“Especially after the board’s audit committee received three anonymous complaints regarding unexplained reimbursements.”
Madison froze.
Daniel looked at her.
“You never told me about that.”
She snapped back.
“Because they were ridiculous!”
“Were they?”
I pushed a second document forward.
“This is the Miami hotel invoice.”
Madison’s lips parted.
“You said you were in Milwaukee.”
“I changed plans.”
“You charged the hotel to Harrington Group.”
“It was business.”
“The hotel reservation lists you and a man named Grant Ellison.”
Her face drained.
Charles looked at Madison.
“Who is Grant?”
Nobody answered.
I watched Daniel.
He looked confused.
Genuinely confused.
That told me something.
There were still things even he didn’t know.
I continued.
“Grant Ellison is the vice president of Northstar Logistics.”
Charles stiffened.
“So?”
“So Northstar Logistics became one of Harrington Group’s largest vendors last year.”
I turned another page.
“Three months after Madison began charging personal expenses to the company card, Northstar’s contract increased by thirty-eight percent.”
Charles stared at me.
“Are you accusing my daughter of bribery?”
“No.”
I paused.
“I’m telling you what the documents show.”
I slid a spreadsheet across the table.
“Northstar paid Harrington Group for services that were never fully delivered. Harrington Group then paid a consulting company called Meridian Advisory.”
Charles looked at the name.
His eyebrows narrowed.
“What’s Meridian?”
“A company registered in Delaware.”
“So?”
“The registered agent is the same attorney who formed another company.”
I turned the page.
“Brightwell Holdings.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Why does that matter?”
I looked at him.
“Because Brightwell Holdings owns a forty percent interest in a restaurant group.”
Madison’s face had gone completely white.
I continued.
“And that restaurant group owns the building where Madison’s new boutique is located.”
No one spoke.
My mother looked at me.
Dad stared at the documents.
Charles looked at Madison.
Madison finally whispered:
“This is insane.”
“Then explain it.”
“I don’t have to explain anything to you.”
“Correct.”
I closed the folder.
“You don’t have to explain anything to me.”
I looked around the table.
“But you will have to explain it to the people who are coming.”
Daniel frowned.
“Who?”
I reached into my purse and took out my phone.
“Outside this room are two attorneys, a forensic accountant, and Harrington Group’s lender’s representative.”
Charles stood so quickly that his chair scraped against the floor.
“You called the bank?”
“Yes.”
“You had no authority to do that.”
“I did.”
“You’re trying to destroy this family.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
My voice remained calm.
“I’m trying to stop the family from destroying itself.”
Charles pointed toward the door.
“Get out.”
I nodded.
“I will.”
Daniel stared at me.
“Claire.”
I turned toward him.
“But before I leave, you need to understand something.”
He said nothing.
“For four years, I have protected this company.”
I touched the folder.
“I protected your father’s reputation.”
I touched another stack.
“I protected your sister.”
Then I looked directly into his eyes.
“And I protected you.”
His face tightened.
“I never asked you to.”
“No.”
I swallowed.
“You just benefited from it.”
His expression faltered.
That was the first time that night he looked ashamed.
But it wasn’t enough.
I turned toward my parents.
“Mom, Dad, let’s go.”
My mother stood.
Dad followed.
Before we reached the door, Charles spoke.
“Arthur.”
Dad stopped.
Charles’s voice was colder now.
“If you walk out with her, don’t expect anything from this family again.”
Dad slowly turned.
He looked at Charles for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
It wasn’t a happy smile.
It was the smile of a man who had finally stopped caring what someone thought of him.
“Charles,” Dad said quietly, “your family stopped being my family a long time ago.”
Charles’s jaw tightened.
Dad continued.
“My daughter married your son. That does not give you ownership over her.”
Then he walked out.
My mother followed.
I was halfway through the doorway when Daniel called my name.
“Claire.”
I stopped.
He walked toward me.
His voice was low.
“Are you really filing for divorce?”
I looked at him.
“I already spoke with my attorney.”
His face changed.
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
He stared at me.
Three weeks.
He understood what that meant.
I hadn’t made the decision tonight.
Tonight had simply confirmed it.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I gave him a tired smile.
“Because every time I told you I was hurt, you asked me to wait.”
He looked down.
“I thought things would change.”
“So did I.”
I walked away.
But I didn’t know yet that leaving that dining room was only the beginning.
Because the next morning, at 7:14 a.m., my phone rang.
It was the chairman of Harrington Group’s board.
And the first thing he said was:
“Claire, don’t go to work today.”
I sat up in bed.
“Why?”
There was a long pause.
Then he said:
“Because someone has been deleting financial records.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“We don’t know.”
“What records?”
His voice dropped.
“Everything connected to the forensic review.”
I looked toward the folder sitting on my desk.
“What about the backups?”
“They’re gone too.”
I froze.
“That’s impossible.”
“No,” he said.
“It’s worse than impossible.”
“What do you mean?”
“We found the deletion logs.”
I held my breath.
“Whose credentials were used?”
Another silence.
Then he said the words that made my blood run cold.
“Yours.”
CONTINUE READ NEXT PART… 👇
