Chapter 12 - Natalie’s Leverage
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Caroline Shaw arranged a secure meeting with Natalie Blake the following morning at the Vance Global corporate headquarters.
Natalie arrived looking significantly less glamorous than she had at the christening. The reality of the situation had clearly set in; she was facing severe federal charges for her role as CFO during the embezzlement, and she knew her only way out was full cooperation.
"The flash drive you provided was very helpful, Ms. Blake," Caroline began, sliding a printed copy of the data across the polished conference table. "However, it primarily details the recent fraud involving the trust. The FBI is very interested in the historical crimes committed by Margaret Lawson."
Natalie crossed her arms, looking defensively between Caroline and me.
"I wasn't around twenty-five years ago," Natalie said flatly. "I don't know anything about Harrison Vance's wife."
"But you know how Margaret operates," I interjected. "You discovered she was siphoning the money Garrett stole into her own offshore accounts. How did you find that?"
Natalie hesitated, biting her lip. "Margaret is sloppy when she thinks no one is looking. I found a hidden ledger on the Lawson servers. It tracks payments made from a shell company called Apex Holdings."
My father, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, suddenly sat up straight. "Apex Holdings?"
"Yes," Natalie confirmed. "It’s the account she used to hide the trust money."
"She used that same shell company twenty-five years ago to hide the money she stole from the joint venture with my wife," Harrison said, his eyes narrowing. "Do you have access to the full historical ledger?"
"I downloaded everything before the police seized the servers," Natalie admitted, pulling a second, smaller flash drive from her purse. "I held this back as an insurance policy. If I give this to you, I want full immunity for my involvement in Garrett's mess."
Caroline took the flash drive, her expression unreadable. "We don't grant immunity, Ms. Blake. The federal prosecutor does. But I will personally ensure they know your cooperation was vital to solving a homicide."
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Natalie’s eyes widened. "Homicide? I thought we were just talking about corporate fraud."
"We are talking about murder," I said coldly. "And you just handed us the weapon."
