Chapter 14 - Midnight Ledger
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That night, sleep was completely impossible.
The physical pain in my back had dulled to a thumping ache, replaced entirely by an intense, obsessive drive to solve the financial puzzle left behind by Thomas Mercer.
At two in the morning, while the rehab ward was silent save for the hum of hallway lights, I opened my laptop again.
I downloaded the complete bank transaction history for Northstar Advisory Group that Detective Morris’s team had subpoenaed from the state financial clearinghouse.
I opened a blank spreadsheet and began running a standard forensic audit protocol: sorting transactions by volume, identifying recurring automated clearinghouse payments, and mapping recipient routing numbers.
Nine years ago, Northstar held an incredible balance of $3,200,000.
Over the next five years, Vivian Mercer had steadily siphoned out roughly $800,000 through personal withdrawals, high-end retail purchases, luxury resort stays, and legal fees.
That left $2,400,000 unaccounted for.
Where had the rest of the money gone?
I scrolled down through thousands of line items, my eyes scanning the screen in the dark room.
Suddenly, my thumb stopped on the trackpad.
Beginning six years ago, exact quarterly wire transfers of $42,000 had been automatically routed out of Northstar’s primary account.
The recipient was listed as an entity called The Harbor Foundation.
I immediately cross-referenced the routing number with the state registry of non-profit entities.
The Harbor Foundation was a registered 501(c)(3) public charity established fifteen years ago, claiming to provide emergency housing grants and educational scholarships for underprivileged youth.
It had officially dissolved six years ago—the exact same month the quarterly $42,000 transfers began.
I opened the foundation's final state disclosure tax filings to inspect the names of its board of directors.
There were four names listed on the incorporation charter.
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The first three were completely unfamiliar to me.
The fourth name printed at the bottom was: Martin Shaw.
