Chapter 3 - THE BOARDROOM
The room fell silent when Sophie walked in.
Twelve board members turned toward her.
Nobody mentioned the champagne.
Not at first.
Victor Vale was the first to stand.
Madison’s father.
Sixty-two years old.
Silver hair.
Perfect suit.
A man who had built a fortune in real estate by never letting emotion show on his face.
Until now.
His eyes dropped to Sophie’s ruined dress.
“What happened?”
Interesting.
Sophie took her seat.
“An accident.”
Victor studied her.
He knew it wasn’t.
Across the table, board member Helen Cho frowned.
“Do you need a few minutes?”
“I’m fine.”
Another director looked uncomfortable.
Two said nothing at all.
Sophie remembered their faces.
The meeting began.
Financial reports.
Development projects.
A hotel acquisition in Miami.
Labor negotiations in Chicago.
Then, at 10:48 p.m., the screen changed.
BLAKE URBAN SYSTEMS.
Carter entered twelve minutes later.
Madison came with him.
Sophie noticed that immediately.
“She isn’t part of the presentation,” Sophie said.
Carter stopped.
Madison smiled tightly.
“I thought—”
“I know what you thought.”
Victor cleared his throat.
“Madison can sit in the back.”
Sophie turned toward him.
Victor met her eyes.
For one second, something passed between them.
A warning.
Or a challenge.
Sophie looked back at Madison.
“Fine.”
Madison sat.
Carter began.
His presentation was polished.
Growth projections.
Security software.
Smart-building systems.
Expansion plans.
Every answer smooth.
Every number prepared.
Every smile practiced.
Sophie listened without interrupting.
At the end, Carter placed both hands on the table.
“With Sterling Crown’s resources and Blake Urban’s technology, we believe this partnership will redefine urban security.”
Several directors nodded.
Victor smiled.
“Strong work.”
Sophie spoke.
“I have a question.”
Carter looked at her.
“Of course.”
“What is Northstar Consulting?”
His smile twitched.
Barely.
But Sophie saw it.
“A vendor.”
“What do they do?”
“Strategic advisory.”
“Who owns it?”
“I’d have to check.”
“You paid them nine-point-two million dollars last year.”
Carter paused.
Victor leaned back.
Madison looked confused.
Sophie continued.
“What about Red Bridge Management?”
Carter’s jaw tightened.
“Another vendor.”
“Seven-point-eight million.”
Nobody moved.
“And Harbor Meridian?”
Silence.
Sophie leaned forward.
“Ten-point-one million.”
Helen Cho picked up her pen.
“That’s twenty-seven million dollars.”
Carter smiled carefully.
“These are legitimate expenses.”
“Then explaining them should be easy.”
“They’re confidential relationships.”
Sophie nodded.
“Confidential from your investors?”
Carter’s voice cooled.
“I don’t appreciate the implication.”
Sophie’s expression didn’t change.
“I didn’t make an implication.”
She slid a document across the table.
“I asked a question.”
Carter looked at the paper.
His eyes stopped.
Victor saw his reaction.
“What is it?” Victor asked.
Carter didn’t answer.
Sophie did.
“All three companies list the same registered agent.”
The room became completely still.
“And that agent,” Sophie continued, “works out of an office owned by Blake Family Holdings.”
Madison looked at Carter.
“What?”
Carter stared at Sophie.
“Where did you get this?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“It matters more where the money went.”
Carter straightened.
“I think we should pause this discussion until counsel is present.”
Sophie smiled slightly.
“Counsel is present.”
A woman at the far end of the table closed her laptop.
Carter had not noticed her.
Sophie turned toward the attorney.
“Rachel?”
Rachel opened a folder.
“We contacted Northstar Consulting thirty-five minutes ago.”
Carter’s face tightened.
“There was no answer.”
She turned a page.
“Because the office doesn’t exist.”
Madison slowly stood.
“Carter?”
He looked at her.
For the first time all night, he looked afraid.
Then Sophie’s phone vibrated.
One message.
Unknown number.
STOP DIGGING.
OR YOUR FATHER’S REAL STORY GOES PUBLIC.
Sophie stared at the screen.
May you like
Her father had been dead for eight months.
And there was only one secret she had spent her whole life trying to bury.
