“Then you know how mergers work.
Money moves quickly.
Consultants are retained.
Flights are booked.
Not every expense gets explained to people who spend their afternoons gardening.”
One of the board members looked down in embarrassment.
Evelyn did not react.
Priya activated the first screen.
A timeline appeared.
Six months earlier, Dominic had created a confidential acquisition project called Meridian.
The project was supposedly intended to purchase a small cybersecurity firm.
The board authorized an initial due-diligence budget of $750,000.
Within eight weeks, Dominic had redirected portions of the budget to Blake Strategic Communications, a company formed eleven days before receiving its first payment.
Vanessa was its only officer.
Her company had billed Omnitech for market research, negotiation support, and investor relations.
The work product consisted of two copied presentations and a twelve-page report assembled from public websites.
In return, Blake Strategic had received $286,000.
Dominic interrupted.
“She was paid for access to Northstar.”
Vanessa looked at him sharply.
“You told me I was being paid to manage the announcement.”
“You introduced me to Voss.”
“At a charity dinner.
I barely knew him.”
Priya advanced to the next screen.
Another $410,000 had moved from Meridian into a bridge account controlled by a Northstar affiliate.
The transfer authorization carried Evelyn’s forged signature.
The money was only the first installment.
Attached to the transfer was an unsigned draft agreement granting Northstar an exclusive option to purchase Omnitech’s encryption patents at less than one-third of their independently assessed value.
Dominic’s compensation agreement with Northstar appeared in a separate email chain.
If the transfer succeeded, he would receive a senior position, a $2 million signing payment, and equity in the acquiring company.
The room became very still.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“You said we were leaving together,” she said.
Dominic turned on her.
“Be quiet.”
“You said the money was for us.”
“I said be quiet.”
That sharp command changed something in Vanessa’s face.
Until then, she had seemed frightened mainly for herself.
Now she looked at Dominic as though she were seeing him clearly for the first time.
Evelyn noticed.
“So there was another agreement,” Evelyn said.
Vanessa hesitated.
Dominic rose from his chair.
“She has nothing relevant to say.”
Security moved closer.
Vanessa opened her white purse—the same purse from which she had taken the five-dollar bill—and removed a second phone.
Dominic’s expression broke.
“Vanessa.”
She held the phone against her chest.
“You told me to keep this separate from my personal account.”
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
He stepped toward her.
