Chapter 4 - THE SHADOW AUDIT
"You were reckless, Julian!" Caroline’s lips moved with furious, sharp speed as she paced across the Persian rug. "How could you leave your security clearance pass in your lab coat where a child could reach it?!"
Dr. Vance slammed his leather briefcase onto the desk above where Grant and Marcus were hiding, his face flushed with anger.
"The child is seven years old, Caroline! She doesn't know what North Bridge is! Grant thinks it's a piece of junk from the warehouse crash!"
"Grant isn't stupid!" Caroline hissed, leaning over the desk, her face inches from Vance's. "Did you see his face when I walked in? He was looking at that badge like he recognized the logo! If he connects North Bridge to the offshore shell accounts I audited three years ago, we are both going to federal prison for life!"
Grant held his breath, his eyes locked onto Caroline’s lips through the dark gap beneath the desk.
Three years ago, Caroline had entered his life as a court-appointed financial auditor after the warehouse explosion. She had helped him manage the Mercer family’s sixty-million-dollar logistics firm, gradually gaining his complete trust until he asked her to marry him.
It was all a calculated lie.
"The Mercer estate audit closes in three weeks," Dr. Vance said, his voice dropping into a tense, hushed register. "Once the remaining thirty million dollars in offshore shipping bonds are transferred to the North Bridge Delaware account, Grant can have his hearing back for all I care. Without his hearing, he couldn't attend the board meetings or verify the wire signatures."
"What about the child?" Caroline asked coldly. "She signed something to Grant in the office today. I saw her hands moving."
"I'll handle the child's mother tomorrow," Dr. Vance sneered. "A simple termination notice and a threat of deportation will keep that family quiet forever."
Grant’s hands clenched into massive, furious fists beneath the desk. His blood burned with pure, unadulterated rage.
They hadn't just murdered his brother and stolen his hearing; they were planning to destroy an innocent mother and child who had tried to help him.
Dr. Vance opened his desk drawer, pulled out a stack of paper files, and handed them to Caroline. "Take the master wire transfers to the warehouse tonight. The board votes on the asset liquidation at 9:00 AM tomorrow."
Caroline took the files, nodding curtly. "Make sure Grant takes his evening dose of Compound 44 before the board meeting. I don't want him hearing a single word of the proceedings."
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As the heavy office doors clicked shut behind them, Grant stepped out from beneath the desk, his eyes burning with lethal determination.
He looked at Marcus and signed with absolute authority: WE ARE NOT GOING TO THE POLICE YET. WE ARE GOING TO THE WAREHOUSE.
