Chapter 14
Chapter 14: The Midnight Audit
At 2:00 AM, the executive boardroom was transformed into a war room.
Charlotte sat at the head of the massive obsidian table. Harris, the front office director who had proven his loyalty in the lobby, sat to her right. Across from them was David Lin, the resort's senior forensic accountant, who had been secretly loyal to Vivian for a decade.
Empty coffee cups littered the table as they poured over the leather-bound ledger recovered from the safe, cross-referencing it with the digital files Graham had tried to bury.
"It's worse than we thought," David said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Graham wasn't just embezzling. He was intentionally sabotaging the supply chains. He canceled the luxury vendor contracts and replaced them with cut-rate suppliers owned by shell companies under his name."
"He was artificially tanking the property's valuation," Harris realized, his eyes widening in horror. "Making the board panic so they would approve the merger with Sterling Corp."
"And Sterling Corp was going to kick back a thirty percent finder's fee directly to Graham's offshore accounts once the sale was finalized," Charlotte finished, tracing a line of red ink in the ledger.
She leaned back in the heavy leather chair, rubbing her tired eyes. Every bone in her body ached from the car crash, but her mind was razor-sharp.
"David, compile everything into a single, undeniable dossier. Make twenty copies," Charlotte ordered.
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"For the police?" Harris asked.
"For the board," Charlotte corrected, a dark, predatory calm settling over her. "Graham wanted a hostile takeover. Let's show him what one actually looks like."
