Chapter 4 - Ten Days
The audit was supposed to be boring.
That was why only four people knew.
Moretti Holdings operated shipping terminals, construction companies, storage facilities, and entertainment properties across three states.
Large organizations leak money if nobody watches.
Sometimes through fraud.
Often through incompetence.
I ordered an internal review after margins in Dominic’s logistics division stopped matching revenue growth.
The preliminary report found payments to five consulting and maintenance vendors with overlapping ownership.
The amount under review was $8.4 million over twenty six months.
Nobody had concluded Dominic stole it.
But three approvals carried his authorization.
He was scheduled to meet the audit committee on January third.
Ten days after the birthday.
When police learned, their investigation widened.
Dominic’s lawyer called the timing “a transparent attempt by Alessandro to weaponize family tragedy in a corporate dispute.”
I said nothing publicly.
Privately, I wanted to put my fist through something.
Dr. Harris advised a punching bag.
My therapist later advised the same.
At that point I didn’t have therapist.
I had Ethan.
And Ethan watched me too closely.
“Are you mad?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to hurt Uncle Dominic?”
“No.”
“Even if he did it?”
“No.”
That answer cost me.
Good.
Children should not learn justice from a father’s fists.
Police searched Gavin Mercer’s rented apartment after obtaining a warrant.
They found:
A burner phone.
$18,000 cash.
Printed floor plans of the estate.
A copy of Ethan’s birthday schedule.
No allergen material.
The burner contained three numbers.
One belonged to a prepaid phone activated near White Plains.
One disconnected.
One belonged to North Meridian Consulting LLC.
The company existed.
Barely.
Registered eighteen months earlier.
Address:
Virtual office.
Managing member hidden behind a corporate formation service.
Bank records required legal process.
Detective Ellison said:
“Could take days.”
“Take them.”
“You don’t get to order us.”
“I know.”
She almost smiled.
Then:
“Gavin wants to talk.”
His lawyer arranged proffer.
He claimed he believed the substance would make Ethan mildly sick.
Not kill him.
He had been told the goal was to cause a public medical emergency.
“Why?” Ellison asked.
“To scare Alessandro.”
“Who told you?”
“I never met the client.”
That contradicted Lily seeing Dominic hand him bottle.
Gavin said:
“The man in the ballroom wasn’t the client.”
“Dominic?”
“I didn’t know his name.”
“What did he give you?”
“Decorative powder.”
“Was that what you put in cake?”
Gavin hesitated.
“No.”
There.
“Where did you get the other material?”
“My contact left it in a locker.”
“Which contact?”
“Phone only.”
“Why did Lily see Dominic hand you something?”
“Because he did.”
“What did you do with that?”
“Threw it away.”
“So Dominic’s container may be the silver one in trash?”
“Yes.”
That weakened direct physical link between Dominic and contamination.
Lily had told truth.
Our interpretation had outrun it.
She saw Dominic give Gavin a bottle.
She did not see what was in that bottle.
Important.
Dominic could still be mastermind.
But Lily had not proved it.
I told Ethan that night:
“We learned Uncle Dominic may have handed the man something harmless.”
“So he didn’t do it?”
“We don’t know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
He hated uncertainty.
So did I.
Then Nathan Cole entered my study.
“Alessandro, I found the badge access.”
“What?”
“Gavin’s fake credential was generated from an admin terminal.”
“Which one?”
His face was pale.
“Mine.”
The room became silent.
“Were you there?”
“No.”
“Who has your password?”
“No one.”
“Then?”
Nathan swallowed.
“The login used my credentials and my hardware token.”
“Where is your token?”
He reached into his jacket.
Then stopped.
May you like
His pocket was empty.
For the first time in nine years, my security chief looked afraid.
