Chapter 2 - The Audit of TruthEvelyn did not go to a hotel. She drove straight to the industrial district where her mentor, Marcus Vance, kept his forensic accounting firm. Marcus was seventy, retired from corporate law, and possessed an encyclopedic memory of the Hawthorne family's financial sins.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, child," Marcus said, placing a steaming ceramic mug before her.
"I haven't seen a ghost, Marcus," Evelyn said, sliding a thumb drive across the desk. "I've seen the Hawthornes' tax filings for the last five fiscal years. Cross-reference Grant's clinical research foundation with offshore trusts registered in Belize."
Marcus adjusted his spectacles, his expression turning grave as the monitors hummed to life. Over the next three hours, the screen revealed a web of deceit. Grant had not only diverted family trust assets into private accounts for Cynthia; he had funneled medical grants intended for rare maternal health research into shell companies to finance his lifestyle.
May you like
"This isn't just marital infidelity, Evelyn," Marcus murmured softly. "This is felony fraud on an international scale."
"They thought I was just an ornamental bride," Evelyn said, staring at the numbers. "They forgot that I graduated top of my class in economics before I married him."
Related Stories
