Chapter 5 — The Audit Begins
The following morning, the Carter family headquarters felt colder than Daniel remembered.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city, but no one admired the view.
Every executive in the boardroom had received the same message at 7:00 a.m.
Mandatory emergency meeting. Attendance required.
No explanation.
No agenda.
Only Daniel's signature.
The room fell silent as he entered.
His wrinkled shirt had been replaced by a dark suit, but exhaustion still clung to him. His eyes were bloodshot from a sleepless night spent moving between Olivia's recovery room and the NICU.
His daughter remained stable.
His son remained on life support.
Nothing else mattered.
Yet he had another responsibility now.
Finding the truth.
At the far end of the table sat Mark Ellison, the company's chief financial officer.
Beside him was Amelia Brooks, head of legal affairs.
Neither had expected Daniel to return from his overseas trip two weeks early.
Neither looked comfortable.
Daniel remained standing.
"I'll keep this brief."
He placed a thick folder on the conference table.
"I've authorized an independent forensic audit of every company account."
Murmurs spread around the room.
Mark frowned.
"Daniel, is this really necessary?"
Daniel looked directly at him.
"Seven hundred thousand dollars disappeared under my name."
Silence.
"I never approved those transactions."
Mark cleared his throat.
"There has to be a misunderstanding."
Daniel opened the folder and slid photocopies across the polished table.
Forged approvals.
False invoices.
Transfers routed through shell corporations.
No one spoke.
Amelia adjusted her glasses as she examined the documents.
"These signatures are excellent forgeries."
"They fooled our accounting system."
Daniel's voice remained calm.
"But they won't fool handwriting experts."
Mark shifted uncomfortably.
"Who do you think did this?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he pressed a button on the conference room remote.
The large screen illuminated.
Security footage filled the wall.
The room watched in stunned silence as Vanessa punched Olivia.
Again.
And again.
Then came her threat.
"Give me the code... or I'll make sure neither baby survives today."
Someone gasped.
Amelia covered her mouth.
Mark stared at the floor.
Daniel stopped the video.
"My sister is under criminal investigation."
No one moved.
"But this isn't only about assault."
He held up another document.
"Every fraudulent payment eventually reached one consulting company."
He turned the page.
VC Strategic Consulting LLC
Owner:
Vanessa Carter.
The room erupted.
"She owns that company?"
"Why wasn't compliance notified?"
"How did nobody catch this?"
Daniel raised one hand.
Instant silence.
"I've asked those same questions."
He looked slowly around the room.
"And I intend to get answers."
Meanwhile, Detective Rachel Monroe sat inside the Financial Crimes Division with forensic accountant Leo Bennett.
Stacks of documents covered the conference table.
Leo adjusted his reading glasses.
"This wasn't random theft."
Rachel nodded.
"What do you see?"
He highlighted several transactions.
"Someone moved money in small amounts over eighteen months."
"To avoid triggering alerts?"
"Exactly."
He opened another spreadsheet.
"But here's the interesting part."
Rachel leaned closer.
"Every transfer required two executive approvals."
Daniel had signed one.
The second belonged to...
Rachel frowned.
"Michael Carter?"
Leo nodded.
Daniel's father.
Rachel looked back at the documents.
"Could his signature also be forged?"
Leo was already comparing samples.
Several long moments passed.
Then he slowly removed his glasses.
"No."
Rachel's stomach tightened.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying..."
He pointed at the documents.
"...Michael Carter really signed these."
At Mercy Memorial Hospital, Olivia finally opened her eyes.
Everything hurt.
The incision.
Her ribs.
Her throat.
The room felt unfamiliar.
Then memory crashed over her.
Vanessa.
The punch.
The twins.
She immediately reached for her stomach.
Flat.
Empty.
Panic surged through her.
A nurse hurried over.
"It's okay."
"My babies?"
"They're alive."
Tears instantly filled Olivia's eyes.
"And Daniel?"
"He's here."
The door opened almost at once.
Daniel stepped inside.
The moment their eyes met, neither of them spoke.
He crossed the room in three long strides and gently took her hand.
"I'm so sorry."
Olivia shook her head weakly.
"You came."
"I'll never leave again."
She searched his face.
"Did she..."
Daniel understood the question before she finished.
"Yes."
"We have the video."
Relief washed over Olivia.
Then Daniel hesitated.
"There was something else."
"What?"
He looked down for a moment.
"The financial investigation..."
His jaw tightened.
"...may involve my father."
Olivia stared at him.
Outside the hospital room, unnoticed by either of them, an elderly man stood frozen behind the partially open door.
Michael Carter.
He had come carrying flowers for Olivia.
Instead, he had just overheard every word.
Slowly, his hand loosened.
The bouquet slipped from his fingers and scattered across the hallway floor.
May you like
For the first time in decades...
The powerful patriarch of the Carter family looked terrified.
