Chapter 5 - Balancing the Books
The aftermath was a whirlwind of legal filings and arrests.
The notebook my grandfather left behind was a "Nuclear Option" for the city's corrupt elite.
With the evidence I provided, the FBI opened an investigation into Apex Horizon Assets.
Damian Ross was charged with bigamy, fraud, and conspiracy.
Sarah Jenkins was arrested in Seattle for her role in the shell companies.
Our "marriage" was annulled within the month.
I sat in my father's kitchen, the walnut table now cleared of legal documents and recording devices.
The sun was shining through the window, catching the dust motes in the air.
"What are you going to do now, Laura?" my father asked.
"The firm wants you back. They offered you a partnership."
I looked at the kitchen table.
I thought about the twelve years I had spent living a managed life.
"I don't think I want to be an accountant anymore, Dad," I said.
"At least, not for other people."
"I want to stay here. For a while."
"I want to help you fix up the house. Really fix it."
He smiled, the first genuine smile I had seen in years.
"I could use a good apprentice. Even one who's better with a calculator than a wrench."
The secret of the Campbell house was finally out.
It wasn't a vault of jewels.
It was a vault of truth.
And truth, I realized, was much more valuable than diamonds.
I looked down at my hands.
They were clean.
No wedding ring. No lies. No management.
I was no longer the girl under the table.
I was the woman at the head of it.
The accounts were finally balanced.
And for the first time in twelve years, I knew exactly who I was.
The Campbell history was safe.
And my future?
My future was finally my own.
"Let's get to work, Dad," I said.
May you like
He handed me a wrench.
And together, we began to build something that could never be stolen.
