Chapter 6 - THE COMPANY I NEVER OWNED
Clare had never founded a pharmaceutical company.
She barely had enough money in her savings account to replace the aging laptop she used for research.
Yet corporate records listed her as the beneficial owner of a private medical research firm.
Meridian Clinical Solutions.
Established three years earlier.
Annual revenue exceeding seventy million dollars.
Authorized representative: Clare Whitmore.
Her name.
Her date of birth.
Her old Brooklyn address.
All there.
All real.
Except the signature.
Clare examined the document.
“That's not mine.”
The investigator nodded.
“We'll have it examined.”
Nathaniel stood beside her.
His face was grim.
“Someone used your identity.”
Clare stared at him.
“Your family.”
He didn't deny it.
The investigators uncovered suspicious transfers from Ashcroft-controlled accounts to Meridian Clinical Solutions.
Several payments coincided with the dates Clare had submitted research reports criticizing pharmaceutical reimbursement practices.
It was as though someone had been using her identity to create a financial trail.
A trail that could later be used to accuse her of the very misconduct she'd been investigating.
Clare's stomach twisted.
“They were setting me up.”
Nathaniel nodded slowly.
“Possibly.”
She looked at him.
“Your father knew I was investigating the industry.”
“Yes.”
“Victoria knew.”
“Yes.”
“And somebody decided to make me the criminal if the evidence surfaced.”
His silence was answer enough.
Clare stepped away.
“I need some air.”
Nathaniel didn't follow immediately.
He gave her space.
Outside the building, cold wind struck her face.
For years, she'd believed careful research could expose institutional wrongdoing.
Now the institution was turning her own identity against her.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Then answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice whispered.
“Clare Whitmore?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Dr. Elaine Porter.”
Clare stopped walking.
“Who are you?”
“I worked for Project Meridian.”
Her heart began pounding.
“What do you want?”
“To tell you what happened to your mother.”
Clare gripped the phone.
“Then tell me.”
The woman hesitated.
“We discovered unauthorized changes to patient enrollment and reimbursement records.”
Clare swallowed.
“Was my mother involved?”
“She tried to report them.”
“And?”
“Someone threatened her.”
Clare felt sick.
“Who?”
Dr. Porter's voice broke.
“I can't say over the phone.”
“Then where can we meet?”
A pause.
“St. Catherine's Hospital. Tomorrow. Noon.”
Clare closed her eyes.
Then the woman whispered:
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“Your mother left a sealed package before she died.”
Clare's breath caught.
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
The doctor hesitated.
Then answered.
“A recording.”
Clare's hands began trembling.
“A recording of what?”
Dr. Porter's voice dropped.
“The meeting where Douglas Ashcroft ordered the evidence destroyed.”
Before Clare could respond, the call ended.
May you like
And a text message appeared.
“Come alone. Someone inside Nathaniel's security team is working for Victoria.”
