The fourth contained seventeen invoices submitted by Vanessa’s company.
I opened the first invoice.
It billed the family-backed venture for research, travel, and strategic development connected to a federal communications opportunity.
At the bottom was an authorization bearing my name.
CLAIRE WHITAKER, BENEFICIAL OWNER.
The signature looked like mine.
It was not.
My stomach turned cold.
Andrew saw the document on my screen.
His expression changed so quickly that I understood the truth before he spoke.
“Claire, we can fix this privately.”
I looked at him.
“You forged my signature.”
“I did not say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Vanessa moved closer, trying to read the screen.
“Andrew, you told me she approved those invoices.”
“This is not the time.”
“You said Claire knew about the company.”
“Vanessa.
Stop talking.”
The investigator beside her took note of every word.
A second pair of investigators came through the headquarters doors carrying a sealed evidence bag.
Inside was a black phone I had never seen.
Andrew stopped breathing for a fraction of a second.
One investigator held it up.
“This device was located in the locked drawer of Commander Whitaker’s desk.”
Mercer faced him.
“Is it yours?”
Andrew’s answer came too slowly.
“It is used for consulting research.”
“Government research?”
“Potential post-retirement work.”
“Then why was it stored in a secure command office?”
Andrew had no answer.
The investigator pressed the power button.
The screen lit up without a passcode prompt.
A video file was already open.
Vanessa’s face went white.
“Turn that off,” she said.
Nobody did.
The video began with Andrew’s voice.
“Once Mercer signs the modernization request, the contract is practically ours.”
The camera appeared to be resting on a table.
Andrew sat across from Vanessa in his private office.
He wore his uniform.
She wore the same silver dress I remembered from the holiday reception.
Vanessa leaned toward him.
“And Claire’s family keeps funding us until the award?”
“They won’t notice.
Claire signs whatever I put in front of her.”
“What if she asks questions?”
Andrew laughed.
“She never does.”
I felt something inside me go very still.
