The fifth time my husband stayed out all night, I didn’t call him, cry,

Olivia Park entered Nathan's conference room carrying a black laptop bag and the expression of someone who had already decided to risk her career.

She didn't bother with small talk.

“Claire, I need you to understand that I'm not here because of the Slack message.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I've been questioning certain payments for months, and this morning I was told to stop.”

She opened her laptop.

On the screen was a series of invoices from a consulting company called Cole Strategic Advisory.

My stomach tightened.

“Jasmine's company?”

Olivia nodded.

“She registered it eleven months ago.”

“Prescott Global hired her own company while she was employed there?”

“According to the records, it provided external marketing and acquisition support.”

“How much?”

“Just over two million dollars.”

I stared.

Two million dollars.

Aaron had spent the previous six months complaining that Prescott Global needed to control expenses.

He had postponed salary increases.

Frozen several department budgets.

And canceled a planned employee scholarship program.

Yet Jasmine's company had apparently received millions in consulting fees.

“Who approved the payments?”

Olivia looked uncomfortable.

“Aaron authorized the original consulting arrangement. Subsequent invoices passed through his executive office.”

I folded my arms.

“Why are you telling me?”

“Because several invoices lack supporting work. And some appear to describe services our own employees already performed.”

Nathan leaned forward.

“Have you raised this through the company's reporting procedures?”

“Yes. I requested an independent review. Yesterday, Aaron told me the matter was personal and that he would handle it.”

My jaw tightened.

Personal.

That was apparently the word my husband used whenever Jasmine was involved.

Olivia opened another document.

“This is what concerns me most.”

It was a financing memorandum.

Prescott Global had negotiated a thirty-two-million-dollar secured credit facility with Harborstone Capital.

The loan helped finance the company's expansion into European markets.

Under the agreement, Prescott Global had certain disclosure obligations concerning related-party transactions and material financial irregularities.

If Jasmine's consulting arrangement had been concealed or misrepresented, the lenders and shareholders needed accurate information.

“Does Aaron know who ultimately owns Harborstone?”

Olivia asked.

I looked at Nathan.

“Not all of its owners.”

She studied my expression.

Then she seemed to understand that there was more to my involvement than she had expected.

“I don't want this investigation turned into a marital dispute,” she said.

“Neither do I.”

Nathan nodded.

“Preserve the records and refer the concerns to the independent audit committee. Claire shouldn't receive confidential company information merely because she's Aaron's wife.”

Olivia agreed.

She had come because she feared her concerns would disappear. From that point forward, the appropriate corporate and legal channels needed to handle them.

After she left, Nathan turned toward me.

“Your personal situation and the company's governance have to remain separate.”

“I understand.”

“Good.”

Then he paused.

“But there is something you should know. If Harborstone's loan and equity investment are exposed to undisclosed financial risks, the firm will need to examine them.”

I nodded.

Grandfather would have insisted on exactly that.

An hour later, I returned to my parents' house in Marblehead.

Mom had made soup.

Dad was waiting with a spare key and a quiet determination to help me collect my remaining belongings.

For the first time in months, I felt safe enough to sleep.

Then my phone rang.

It was a real-estate broker I had worked with years earlier.

“Claire, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I wanted to confirm something.”

“What?”

“Is your waterfront property still available for sale?”

My heart stopped.