Chapter 7 — The Investigation No One Saw Coming
One week later, the conference room on the thirty-eighth floor was filled with silence.
Arthur Whitmore stood before the board with a stack of sealed evidence boxes.
Claire noticed the seriousness on his face immediately.
"This isn't about the company, is it?"
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"No."
"It's about crimes."
The room became still.
Arthur opened the first box.
Inside were financial ledgers, encrypted hard drives, and copies of wire transfers dating back almost four years.
"We initially believed Nathan's misconduct was limited to misuse of company funds."
He paused.
"We were wrong."
Claire frowned.
"How much worse is it?"
Arthur slid several photographs across the table.
"Three years ago, Nathan secretly created offshore corporations under fake ownership."
"He used them to inflate company values before negotiating acquisitions."
Several board members exchanged uneasy glances.
"That's securities fraud," William whispered.
Arthur nodded.
"And that's only the beginning."
The second box contained contracts bearing forged signatures.
Some belonged to suppliers.
Others belonged to minority shareholders who had supposedly approved transactions they had never seen.
Claire looked up.
"Did anyone else know?"
"We believe at least five senior executives participated."
"The FBI has already been notified."
Silence filled the room.
Claire closed the folder.
"I don't want anyone protected because of who they know."
Arthur gave a small nod.
"They won't be."
Across the city, Nathan sat alone in a nearly empty apartment he had rented by the week.
The television played nonstop financial news.
Every channel seemed to mention his name.
Former business partners denied knowing him.
Commentators called him a fraud.
Social media replayed the gala humiliation millions of times.
He switched the television off.
The silence felt even louder.
A knock came at the door.
Nathan opened it expecting room service.
Instead, two federal agents stood outside.
"Mr. Nathan Blackwood?"
His heartbeat quickened.
"Yes."
One agent handed him an official document.
"We have a warrant to seize all electronic devices related to an ongoing financial investigation."
Nathan tried to close the door.
The second agent stopped it effortlessly.
"I strongly advise you not to interfere."
Within minutes, laptops, phones, storage drives, and boxes of documents were carried out of the apartment.
Nathan watched helplessly.
His entire life was leaving in cardboard evidence boxes.
Later that evening, Claire visited the company's employee cafeteria.
Instead of dining in the executive suite, she carried her own tray and sat beside a group of junior analysts.
At first, nobody spoke.
Then one young woman smiled nervously.
"My father worked here before he retired."
Claire looked up.
"What was his name?"
"Daniel Brooks."
Claire smiled.
"I remember him."
"He taught me how to read balance sheets when I was sixteen."
The analyst laughed in surprise.
"You actually remember?"
"I remember everyone who helped build this company."
Around the cafeteria, conversations slowly resumed.
People relaxed.
For the first time in years, employees weren't afraid of the person leading the company.
They respected her because she respected them.
That night, Arthur called Claire.
"They've finished reviewing Nathan's personal files."
Claire leaned back in her chair.
"What did they find?"
Arthur was quiet for several seconds.
Then he spoke the words that changed everything.
"Claire..."
"The slap at the gala wasn't the first time."
"We've found evidence proving Nathan spent years covering up violence, bribery, and witness intimidation."
Claire closed her eyes.
The bruises on her heart had never appeared in photographs.
Now, neither would the truth stay hidden.
Outside her office window, the lights of Manhattan glittered against the dark sky.
Nathan had already lost his fortune.
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Soon, he would have to answer for something far more valuable.
His freedom.
