Chapter 15 - North Ridge Consulting
It took my federal contacts less than forty-eight hours to subpoena the records for the destination account.
The missing account belonged to an entity called North Ridge Consulting. It was a company Daniel had explicitly sworn under oath—during the initial protective order asset disclosure—did not exist.
The documents painted a picture of staggering, systemic fraud. For four years, Daniel’s construction business had transferred over $1.8 million into North Ridge through a labyrinth of fake salaries, inflated vendor invoices, and phantom heavy-equipment rentals.
"Who runs North Ridge?" Mara asked as we reviewed the files in her office.
"The registered manager on the LLC filings is a man named Thomas Vance," I explained, dropping a printed photograph on her desk. "He was Daniel’s college roommate."
"So Vance is holding the money?" Claire asked.
"No, Vance is just a figurehead," I replied. "The withdrawal statements show exactly where the money went. It paid for Daniel’s secret offshore mortgage, his luxury vacations, three high-end watches, and a leased luxury apartment downtown that he’s been using for years."
The alleged $300,000 that Claire had "stolen" was the simplest piece of the puzzle. The bank timestamps proved Daniel had initiated the wire transfer himself, moving the money while Claire was physically hospitalized with her broken ribs. He had then altered the internal accounting software to place her digital signature beside the transfer.
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He had manufactured a massive financial crime to cover his own tracks, and intentionally chosen his battered wife as the perfect, defenseless defendant.
He was incredibly smart, but he wasn't smart enough.
