Chapter 3
Marissa had no idea where Preston was.
She assumed he was handling another investor meeting.
Instead...
He was sitting across from the sister she hadn't spoken to in over a year.
Neither of them mentioned the wedding again.
Preston came for one reason.
The audit.
He opened a leather folder and slid several documents across the conference table.
"I found these after your team requested additional records."
Claire studied the pages.
Several transactions had been labeled as consulting expenses.
The invoices looked ordinary.
Too ordinary.
She compared the signatures.
Then looked at Preston.
"Who approved these?"
"Our former Chief Financial Officer."
"Where is he now?"
"He resigned six months ago."
Claire nodded.
"Convenient."
Preston sighed.
"I've started wondering if I ever really knew what was happening inside my own company."
Claire closed the file.
"That's usually when people hire someone like me."
For weeks...
The investigation intensified.
Claire's team traced money through dozens of shell corporations.
Each answer created three more questions.
Late one evening...
Her assistant entered the office.
"You need to see this."
Claire walked into the digital investigation room.
One of her analysts enlarged a payment history on the screen.
"There."
He pointed to a series of transfers.
"The same offshore account keeps appearing."
Claire leaned closer.
"Who owns it?"
"We're still verifying."
Another analyst looked up.
"I found something else."
"The account has indirect connections to someone already inside Hayes Capital."
The room became quiet.
Claire slowly asked,
"Who?"
The analyst swallowed.
"A member of the board."
No one spoke.
If that was true...
The problem wasn't simple accounting.
Someone inside the company had been hiding millions of dollars.
The next morning...
An emergency board meeting was scheduled.
Executives filled the conference room.
Expensive suits.
Confident smiles.
Forced politeness.
Claire sat quietly beside Daniel Mercer.
Across the table...
Several directors questioned the investigation.
"This audit is becoming excessive."
"We've already provided thousands of documents."
Claire calmly opened another folder.
"Actually..."
"You've provided exactly what we requested."
"And today..."
"I'll explain why."
She projected a financial chart onto the large screen.
Colored lines connected dozens of companies.
Investment funds.
Consulting firms.
Property holdings.
Everything eventually pointed back toward one hidden account.
No one interrupted.
One director shifted uncomfortably.
Another loosened his tie.
Finally...
Claire looked directly across the table.
"Would anyone here like to explain why corporate funds repeatedly entered an account controlled by a private holding company registered under a false reporting structure?"
Silence.
A man near the end of the table slowly reached for a glass of water.
His hand shook.
Daniel quietly observed every reaction.
Claire wasn't accusing anyone.
She was waiting.
Truth had a habit of revealing itself.
The nervous director suddenly stood.
"I don't appreciate being treated like a criminal."
Claire remained seated.
"I haven't mentioned your name."
The room froze.
The director realized his mistake.
Daniel slowly closed his notebook.
"I think we're finished for today."
Within forty-eight hours...
Federal financial investigators requested copies of the audit.
The board immediately voted to suspend two executives pending further review.
News traveled quickly through corporate circles.
Hayes Capital stock dropped nearly eight percent before recovering.
Financial reporters began asking questions.
Inside the Bennett family...
No one knew any of this.
Until one Saturday afternoon.
Marissa sat in Preston's office waiting for lunch.
She glanced at a framed newspaper article on his desk.
Her smile disappeared.
Across the front page was a familiar face.
Claire.
Standing outside a federal courthouse beside several attorneys.
The headline read:
"Lead Forensic Investigator Uncovers Multi-Million-Dollar Financial Misconduct."
Marissa stared.
"No..."
She picked up the article.
Below the photograph...
The name was unmistakable.
Claire Bennett.
Managing Director of Financial Forensic Investigations.
Mercer & Rowe.
Preston walked back into the office carrying coffee.
He stopped when he saw the article in her hands.
"You know her?"
Marissa laughed nervously.
"She's my sister."
Preston looked at her for several long seconds.
Then quietly asked,
"The sister who stayed in a hostel at our wedding?"
Marissa's smile vanished.
"...Who told you that?"
"You never did."
He placed the coffee on his desk.
"But she didn't deny it."
The room suddenly felt much smaller.
Preston slowly shook his head.
"I've worked with your sister for months."
"She's one of the most respected investigators I've ever met."
He paused.
"And I can't stop thinking about something."
Marissa whispered,
"What?"
"If that's how your family treated the most successful person among you..."
"How did you treat her before I met you?"
Marissa couldn't answer.
May you like
Because for the first time...
She was asking herself exactly the same question.
