Chapter 5 - The Original Ledger
Claire put the call on speaker.
Silence followed.
"Chloe," Claire said.
A sharp inhale.
Then the call ended.
Julian closed his eyes.
Claire placed the phone on the desk.
"Original ledger."
"Claire—"
"Where is it?"
"I don't know."
"You expect me to believe that?"
Julian sank into a chair.
For the first time since the scandal began, he looked less like a powerful executive and more like a man whose carefully constructed world had collapsed.
"Northstar started differently."
Claire remained standing.
"Explain."
"It was supposed to be legitimate."
"What was?"
"A restructuring vehicle."
"For what?"
"Acquisitions we couldn't publicly disclose."
Claire stared at him.
"Why wasn't the board informed?"
"Because the deals were competitive."
"That's nonsense."
"I know."
The admission surprised her.
Julian rubbed his face.
"It became something else."
"How?"
"Chloe knew how to move money between cost centers without triggering automatic review."
"So you used her."
"At first."
"And later?"
Julian looked toward the window.
"Later, I realized she was keeping copies."
"Blackmail?"
He didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
"Did you steal company money?"
"I moved money."
"That's not what I asked."
"I intended to return it."
Claire felt physically sick.
"How much?"
"I don't know."
"You authorized millions."
"Some payments weren't mine."
"Whose?"
"I don't know."
"Stop saying that!"
Her voice finally rose.
Julian flinched.
Claire forced herself to lower it.
"Someone forged my signature."
He looked away.
"Did you know?"
Silence.
"Julian."
"Yes."
The word nearly destroyed her.
"You knew."
"I found out later."
"And you didn't tell me."
"I thought I could fix it."
"You let someone build evidence that made your wife look like a criminal because you thought you could fix it?"
"I was trying to protect you."
Claire laughed bitterly.
"From what? The crimes committed using my name?"
"From the people behind them."
That stopped her.
"Who?"
"I don't know everyone."
"Give me someone."
Julian hesitated.
Then:
"Victor Dane."
Claire knew the name immediately.
A board member.
One of the men who had voted for her appointment.
Julian continued.
"Northstar wasn't my idea."
"But you participated."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I was stupid."
It was the first completely truthful sentence he'd spoken.
Julian looked at her.
"I thought I could control it."
Claire's eyes burned.
"And Chloe?"
"She handled documentation."
"Are you sleeping with her?"
"No."
Claire watched him.
This time the answer didn't feel rehearsed.
"Then the sweetheart?"
"Manipulation."
"Whose?"
He gave a hollow laugh.
"Both of ours."
Julian explained that Chloe had initially been useful—brilliant, discreet, ambitious. Over time, she had collected evidence against everyone involved.
The watch had been a demand.
Not romance.
Not exactly.
"She told me she'd expose everything unless I bought it."
"With corporate money?"
"I know how insane that sounds."
"It doesn't sound insane. It sounds criminal."
Julian lowered his head.
Claire thought about Chloe humiliating employees because she believed herself untouchable.
Now she understood why.
Chloe possessed secrets.
But one question remained.
"The ledger."
Julian looked up.
"Elena found a physical transaction ledger Chloe kept."
"Why physical?"
"Insurance. Something nobody could remotely delete."
"Where?"
"Elena hid it."
Claire called Elena immediately.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Claire grabbed her coat.
"Where are you going?"
"To find her."
"I'll come."
"No."
"Claire—"
"You don't get to protect me anymore."
She left.
At the hotel, the night manager looked confused.
"Elena didn't come in."
"When was she expected?"
"Eleven."
Claire checked her phone.
No messages.
Then she noticed an envelope behind the counter.
Her name was written across it.
CLAIRE WHITMORE.
Inside was a storage-unit key.
And a handwritten note.
If anything happens to me, locker 317.
Claire's blood turned cold.
She called Maya.
Then security.
Forty minutes later they reached the storage facility.
Locker 317 contained one cardboard box.
Inside was a leather-bound ledger.
Claire opened it.
Pages of dates, payments, initials, and account numbers filled the book.
Near the final pages, one name appeared repeatedly.
V. DANE.
Then another.
J. WHITMORE.
Then Chloe.
Claire turned the page.
Her own name appeared.
Beside it were three words:
FINAL LIABILITY TARGET.
Claire stared at them.
Someone had never merely stolen from Whitmore Holdings.
From the beginning, they had planned to blame Claire.
Then Maya's phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed.
"What?"
Claire looked up.
Maya slowly lowered the phone.
"Police found Elena's car."
"Where?"
"Abandoned."
"Where's Elena?"
May you like
Maya swallowed.
"They don't know."
