Chapter 5 - THE $43 MILLION LIEThe investigation began quietly.
Too quietly.
Northstar's finance department was enormous.
Hundreds of employees.
Thousands of transactions.
Dozens of subsidiaries.
Forty-three million dollars could disappear inside paperwork if the right person knew where to hide it.
Ryan spent three weeks reviewing reports.
He expected numbers.
Instead, he found patterns.
Small transfers.
Different companies.
Different dates.
Same approval signature.
He printed everything.
Then brought it to Samuel.
Samuel studied the pages.
“Who approved these?”
Ryan pointed.
“Marcus Bell.”
Samuel's eyes narrowed.
“Chief Financial Officer.”
Ryan nodded.
“And look at this.”
He pointed to another line.
“The money was transferred to a company called Blue Harbor Consulting.”
Samuel frowned.
“Who owns it?”
“That's the problem.”
Ryan handed him another document.
“Three layers of shell companies.”
Diane entered the room.
“What did you find?”
Ryan explained.
Diane read the report.
Her expression changed.
“This can't be right.”
Ryan replied,
“I thought so too.”
Samuel asked,
“Who signed the original authorization?”
Diane looked down.
“Marcus.”
Samuel stood.
“Call him.”
Diane shook her head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if he's involved, he'll destroy evidence.”
Samuel nodded.
“Then we watch.”
Ryan looked at him.
“You really like watching.”
Samuel smiled.
“It's underrated.”
That evening, Ryan stayed late.
At 10:47 p.m., he saw someone enter the finance archive.
The lights were off.
Ryan froze.
He recognized the silhouette.
Marcus Bell.
The CFO.
Ryan quietly followed.
Marcus entered the archive room.
Ryan hid behind a glass partition.
Marcus opened a cabinet.
Pulled out a file.
Then removed several pages.
Ryan reached for his phone.
His hands shook.
He recorded everything.
Marcus suddenly turned.
Ryan ducked.
Footsteps approached.
Then stopped.
Ryan held his breath.
Marcus walked away.
Ryan waited.
Then ran.
He called Samuel.
“Something happened.”
“What?”
“I saw Marcus destroying documents.”
Silence.
“Where are you?”
“Archive room.”
“Don't move.”
Five minutes later, Samuel arrived.
Diane came with him.
They entered the archive.
The file cabinet was open.
Several documents were missing.
Samuel looked at Ryan.
“Did you record him?”
Ryan nodded.
“Yes.”
Diane watched the video.
Her face became pale.
Marcus had not just removed financial documents.
He had removed documents connected to the Brooks Family Trust.
Samuel stared at the screen.
“Why would he touch my trust?”
Diane answered quietly.
“Maybe because the forty-three million isn't the real target.”
Samuel looked at her.
“What is?”
Diane swallowed.
“Control.”
Ryan frowned.
“Control of what?”
Diane looked toward Samuel.
“The company.”
Samuel became completely still.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
A voice on the other end spoke urgently.
Samuel's face changed.
“What?”
A pause.
“Are you sure?”
Another pause.
Samuel looked at Diane.
Then Ryan.
“We have a bigger problem.”
Ryan asked,
“What?”
Samuel slowly lowered the phone.
“Someone has been trying to force the Brooks Family Trust to sell its Northstar shares.”
Diane's eyes widened.
Ryan understood.
“If they get those shares…”
“They control the company.”
May you like
Samuel nodded.
“And someone has been planning this for years.”
Related Stories
