Chapter 6 - THE FIRST HIDDEN ACCOUNT
The forensic team found the first irregularity before lunch.
It began with landscaping invoices.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing large enough to attract attention.
A company called Cedar Lane Consulting had received monthly payments for “regional development coordination.”
The problem was simple.
Nobody in regional development had ever heard of Cedar Lane.
Elena sat beside Margaret as the investigators traced the company.
The registered address belonged to a mailbox service.
The director was a man named Daniel Reeves.
Camila’s brother.
Elena stared at the screen.
“How much?”
The investigator adjusted his glasses.
“Over twenty-eight months, approximately two point four million dollars.”
Thomas leaned forward.
“For what services?”
“We can’t identify any.”
Margaret’s face hardened.
“That doesn’t mean there were none.”
“No.”
The investigator clicked another file.
“But there’s more.”
Payments to Cedar Lane increased every time Meridian Crown signed a major supplier contract.
Furniture.
Spa equipment.
Private aviation services.
Construction procurement.
Each payment arrived days after the larger contract was approved.
It looked less like consulting and more like money being skimmed from transactions.
Elena felt something inside her go cold.
Julian’s betrayal was expanding beyond marriage.
Across town, Julian was sitting in a private dining room with Adrian Cross, Meridian Crown’s chief operating officer.
Adrian had been Julian’s closest executive ally for six years.
He was also one of the few people who had answered Julian’s call.
“They can’t keep you suspended forever,” Adrian said.
Julian poured himself water.
“They don’t need forever.”
“What do you mean?”
“They need enough time to control the board.”
Adrian lowered his voice.
“Elena already controls the board.”
Julian’s jaw tightened.
“Then we change who controls the votes.”
Adrian looked at him.
“How?”
Julian pulled a folder from his briefcase.
Inside were signed commitments from three outside investors.
“If we accelerate the acquisition before the trust blocks it, their voting position gets diluted.”
Adrian stared at the paperwork.
“You’d need treasury approval.”
“I had it prepared last week.”
“You planned this before last night?”
Julian’s expression gave him the answer.
Adrian leaned back slowly.
This was not a desperate reaction.
Julian had intended to reduce the Vale family’s influence before throwing Elena out.
The humiliation in the lobby had been the final step, not the first.
Adrian looked at the folder again.
“Does Camila know?”
Julian smiled faintly.
“She knows what she needs to know.”
Adrian nodded.
But beneath the table, he quietly activated the recording function on his phone.
Because Adrian had secrets too.
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And unlike Julian, he was beginning to understand that the safest side might be changing.
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