Chapter 9 - The Aftermath and the Audit-9
By late afternoon, the executive suite of Summit Enterprises had undergone a thorough political and physical cleansing. All of Gavin’s hand-picked sycophants had been summarily terminated, escorted out of the building by security before they could shred incriminating documents.
I sat behind my father's old mahogany desk—the same desk where he had taught me the fundamentals of balance sheets, corporate strategy, and human nature. The afternoon sun poured through the glass windows, casting long, warm shadows across the room.
Marcus Vance sat in the armchair opposite my desk, closing a thick ledger of financial summaries.
"Well, Naomi, the preliminary forensic sweep of Gavin's secret accounts is even worse than we initially thought," Marcus reported, adjusting his glasses. "He didn't just embezzle forty million dollars. He leveraged Summit's primary real estate holdings against private loan sharks to finance his personal lifestyle and prop up Nexus Bio-Tech. If we hadn't stepped in today, the company would have faced involuntary bankruptcy by next quarter."
"He was burning the house down to keep himself warm," I replied, staring out at the skyline. "My father always warned me about men like Gavin—men with boundless ambition and zero foundation. They build their castles on sand and blame the tide when it washes away."
"What about the police investigation regarding the car crash at Eagle’s Point?" Marcus asked cautiously. "The local precinct initially ruled it an accidental brake failure due to wet mountain roads."
"We both know it wasn't an accident," I said firmly, turning my gaze back to him. "Gavin knew my father was reviewing the internal audit logs that week. The timing is too precise. I want an independent accident reconstruction team dispatched to inspect the wreckage in the police impound lot. Spare no expense."
"Consider it done," Marcus said, standing up and tucking his briefcase under his arm. "I'll coordinate with our private investigators. By the way, there's someone downstairs waiting in the lobby who requested an audience with you. Said it's a matter of life and death regarding Gavin's past business dealings."
I raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"A woman named Clara Hayes. Former senior financial officer at Nexus Bio-Tech before Gavin fired her last month."
"Send her up," I instructed.
Ten minutes later, the office door opened, and a tired-looking woman in her early thirties walked in, wringing her hands nervously. I invited her to sit down and offered her a cup of tea.
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"Miss Albright... thank you for seeing me," Clara began, her voice shaking slightly. "I saw the news about Gavin's arrest on television this morning. I couldn't keep quiet any longer. What Gavin did at Summit... it's only half the story. There's something much darker he was planning before your father's accident."
I leaned forward, my heart rate quickening. "Go on, Clara. I'm listening."
