Chapter 6 - THE SHADOW IN THE AUDITA month passed. The fallout from the gala had liquidated Julian’s reputation and shattered his family's empire. Julian was awaiting trial in a high-security facility, facing up to twenty-five years without parole. Chloe was serving an eight-year sentence for her involvement in the financial fraud.
I was sitting in the executive office at Pendelton Dynamics, packing my personal belongings into a small cardboard box. My contract as the special compliance officer was officially complete.
The door opened, and Arthur Pendelton walked in, carrying a leather-bound folder.
"Leaving so soon, Miss Vance?" Arthur asked, sitting in the armchair opposite my desk. "The board unanimously voted this morning to offer you the permanent position of Chief Legal Counsel. Salary is open for negotiation. Stock options included."
I offered him a polite smile, closing my briefcase. "Thank you, Mr. Pendelton. But my work here is done. The company is clean, the bad actors are behind bars, and the stolen funds have been recovered."
"Almost all of them," Arthur said quietly.
I paused, my hand hovering over my briefcase latch. "What do you mean?"
Arthur laid the leather folder on the desk and slid it toward me.
"Our secondary audit finished yesterday," Arthur said, his eyes scanning my face with intense scrutiny. "Julian attempted to transfer $42.5 million to the Cayman account. We blocked that transfer at the gala."
"Yes," I nodded. "I know."
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"What Julian didn't know," Arthur continued, "is that a separate, automated transaction of $12 million was executed three days before the gala. From a dark pool account that only two people in this company had administrative access to."
The room grew very quiet. Rain tapped rhythmically against the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
