Chapter 3 - The Company That Didn't Exist
Claire called the number back.
Disconnected.
She immediately contacted Maya.
"Trace a number for me."
She sent it.
Maya responded five minutes later.
"Prepaid phone. No registered owner."
Claire stared into the darkness beyond her living-room windows.
Someone inside Whitmore Holdings was frightened enough to contact the CEO anonymously.
And frightened enough to hang up.
At 6:30 the next morning, Claire was already inside headquarters.
She entered through the underground garage to avoid attention.
Maya was waiting.
"So," Maya said, "Northstar Advisory."
Claire closed the office door.
"What did you find?"
"Almost nothing."
"Meaning?"
"The company legally exists. Delaware registration. Formed twenty-two months ago."
"Employees?"
"None that I can verify."
"Office?"
"A mail-forwarding address."
"Website?"
"Generic."
"Clients?"
"Whitmore Holdings appears to be its only substantial one."
Claire stared at the file.
"Who owns it?"
"That's where things get interesting."
Maya placed another document down.
"The ownership runs through two LLCs."
"And those?"
"Another LLC."
Claire looked up.
"Someone deliberately buried it."
"Yes."
"Can we subpoena ownership records?"
"If this becomes litigation or a criminal investigation."
"Not yet."
Maya nodded.
"I also checked the watch."
Claire's attention sharpened.
"Serial number?"
"Security footage from yesterday gave us enough resolution."
Maya slid a photograph across the desk.
"The watch was purchased in Geneva using a Whitmore Holdings corporate card."
Claire felt anger rise.
"Julian's?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Thirty-two days ago."
Exactly when Julian had told Claire he was buying it for his mother.
"How was it categorized?"
"Client relations."
Claire laughed once without humor.
"So the company bought Chloe a ninety-thousand-dollar watch."
"Ninety-four thousand."
Claire stared at Maya.
"That distinction somehow makes it worse."
At nine, Chloe arrived.
Claire watched through the glass wall as employees moved away from her.
Yesterday Chloe had walked through the building like royalty.
Today whispers followed her.
But Chloe didn't look ashamed.
She looked angry.
At 9:12, Claire received an email.
From Chloe.
Subject: FORMAL COMPLAINT.
Claire opened it.
Chloe alleged that the new CEO was creating a hostile environment because of "personal marital jealousy."
Claire almost admired the speed.
Almost.
At the bottom, Chloe had copied Human Resources.
And Julian.
Maya entered.
"You saw it?"
"Yes."
"Want Legal?"
"Absolutely."
"Want Chloe suspended?"
"No."
Maya raised an eyebrow.
Claire looked through the glass.
"Someone who thinks she's protected will keep making mistakes."
That afternoon, Claire met privately with internal audit director Samuel Reed.
She showed him Northstar.
Samuel went pale.
That was all Claire needed.
"You've seen this before."
Samuel removed his glasses.
"Claire—"
"Don't lie to me."
He looked toward the closed door.
"Last year."
"What happened?"
"An analyst noticed duplicate invoice numbers."
"And?"
"She reported them."
"Who?"
"Elena Park."
Claire remembered the anonymous caller.
"What happened to Elena?"
Samuel swallowed.
"She was terminated."
"By whom?"
"Julian's office submitted a misconduct complaint."
"Signed by Chloe?"
Samuel nodded.
Claire's stomach tightened.
"Where is Elena now?"
"I don't know."
"Find her."
That evening Maya located Elena.
She hadn't left town.
She was working nights at a hotel reception desk twenty miles away.
Claire went herself.
At 11:40 p.m., Elena Park looked up from the hotel computer and froze.
"Mrs. Whitmore."
"You called me."
Elena's face drained.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Claire placed a business card on the counter.
"I won't force you."
Then she turned.
"Wait."
Claire stopped.
Elena looked around the empty lobby.
"They'll ruin me again."
"Who?"
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"Your husband."
Claire said nothing.
Elena reached beneath the desk and removed a small envelope.
"I kept this because I knew someday somebody would need it."
Inside was a flash drive.
"What is it?"
"Copies."
"Of?"
"Everything I could save before they fired me."
Claire stared at the drive.
"Why didn't you go to police?"
"Because the invoices weren't the worst part."
Claire felt the same cold sensation she'd experienced on the anonymous call.
"What was?"
Elena whispered:
"The signatures."
"What signatures?"
"Yours."
Claire froze.
"I never signed Northstar invoices."
"I know."
Elena pushed the drive toward her.
"Someone has been signing your name for almost two years."
May you like
And suddenly the scandal wasn't merely inside Claire's company.
Someone had been building it around Claire herself.
