Chapter 4 - The Audit
I stepped up to the podium. Graham tried to hold his ground, but the sheer, terrifying presence of Arthur and the armed deputies forced him to step aside. I plugged my laptop directly into the projector cable. The quarterly earnings graph disappeared from the screen, replaced by a massive, ten-foot-tall projection of the C&R Interiors invoice, right next to the fake bids from Apex Design Solutions.
"Maximizing operational efficiency is a fascinating topic, Graham," I announced to the forty-two stunned employees. "Especially when evaluating the eighty-nine thousand dollars of corporate funds you spent renovating my family’s property without board approval."
Chloe leaped out of her seat in the front row, her face twisting in panic. "Eleanor, this is highly inappropriate! You are violating corporate confidentiality agreements!"
"Sit down, Chloe," Arthur Sterling commanded, his voice echoing like a gavel striking wood. Chloe froze, her face turning the color of wet ash as she sank back into her chair.
"Yesterday, Graham informed you that Chloe provided invaluable design consultation," I continued, navigating seamlessly to the next slide. It showed the state corporate registry linking Caleb Reed directly to C&R Interiors. "What he failed to mention was that C&R Interiors is owned entirely by Chloe’s brother. He also failed to mention that the two competing bids required by our procurement department were completely fabricated by Graham’s office. The addresses are vacant lots. The tax ID numbers are entirely fake."
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The employees gasped. Several senior managers began aggressively whispering to each other, realizing they were witnessing a corporate slaughter.
"You didn't just give your mistress my family's master bedroom, Graham," I said, turning to look dead into his terrified, widening eyes. "You conspired to commit felony embezzlement and wire fraud, funneling nearly a hundred thousand dollars of my grandfather’s company funds directly into her family's pockets."
