Chapter 3 - THE FILE I KEPT FOR FIVE YEARS
The encrypted drive had spent five years inside a fireproof safe in my Boston office.
I'd never imagined I would need it again.
The morning after Olivia's wedding, I took it to my attorney, Rebecca Shaw, who had represented me during the divorce.
Julian stayed home with Emma.
He didn't ask to review the files.
He understood that the acquisition and my old employment records had to be handled independently.
Rebecca connected the drive to a secured computer.
The folders appeared immediately.
Vendor payments.
Internal correspondence.
Compliance reports.
And a memorandum I'd prepared five years earlier after discovering unusual transactions involving Hart Advisory Group.
I opened the memorandum.
The numbers were even worse than I remembered.
Over fourteen months, Mercer Financial Systems had transferred approximately $4.8 million to Hart Advisory Group for consulting and market-development services.
But the supporting documentation was incomplete.
Several invoices contained identical descriptions.
Others referred to projects that appeared to have been canceled.
When I requested additional information, Marcus told me to stop examining the relationship.
He said Hart Advisory Group was strategically important and that asking too many questions might jeopardize an expansion.
Three weeks later, I discovered his affair.
Rebecca read the memorandum carefully.
"Did you report your concerns internally?"
"Yes."
"To whom?"
"Marcus and the chief financial officer."
"What happened?"
"I was told the transactions had been reviewed and that no further action was necessary."
Then Marcus emptied our joint account and filed for divorce.
I'd preserved the files, consulted counsel, and focused on rebuilding my life.
But the records were still there.
And now somebody had submitted a document suggesting I'd approved the same vendor relationship after leaving the company.
Rebecca turned to another folder.
"Who owned Hart Advisory Group?"
"The ownership information was incomplete when I examined it."
She opened the archived corporate documents.
Then her expression changed.
A later filing identified a holding company associated with Chloe Vance.
My stomach tightened.
"So she was receiving the money?"
"Her business interests appear to have been connected to the vendor. We'll need the underlying ownership and payment records to establish exactly who benefited."
I thought about Chloe's red dress.
Her expensive jewelry.
The house Marcus claimed they'd bought in Weston.
For five years, I'd assumed she enjoyed the financial success Marcus believed he'd achieved without me.
Now I wondered how much of that lifestyle had been funded by the suspicious transactions I'd questioned.
Rebecca copied the relevant records into a secure evidence folder.
"We should coordinate with the appropriate authorities and determine which materials can be disclosed lawfully. You shouldn't send confidential records directly to Julian's acquisition team."
I nodded.
The last thing I wanted was to turn my marriage into an excuse for Marcus to challenge the credibility of the evidence.
Then Rebecca opened one final archived email.
It came from Natalie Price, Mercer Financial Systems' former controller.
I'd forgotten about her.
Natalie had been one of the few people who supported my request for an independent review.
Her message read:
Evelyn, the money isn't simply leaving the operating account. Some of the transfers appear to be connected to the employee hardship reserve.
I stared at the screen.
The employee hardship reserve was supposed to provide emergency assistance to workers facing serious illness, disability, or unexpected family tragedies.
If Natalie's suspicions were correct, the questionable payments weren't merely a corporate-accounting problem.
Someone might have diverted money intended for vulnerable employees.
Then Rebecca's phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed almost immediately.
When she ended the call, she looked straight at me.
"That was Natalie Price."
My heart jumped.
"What did she say?"
Rebecca took a breath.
"She says she has the original records."
May you like
Then she added:
"And she says Marcus has spent five years paying someone to keep them hidden."
