Chapter 6 - THE FIRST LIE IN THE LEDGER|
The next morning, Hugh called me before eight.
“Can you come to my office?”
I arrived at Whitmore Holdings shortly after nine, carrying a notebook and wearing the charcoal suit I usually reserved for foundation meetings.
Hugh was waiting in a private conference room with his attorney, Miriam Cole, and the company's longtime financial director, Daniel Price.
Three folders lay on the table.
Miriam greeted me with a firm handshake.
“Mrs. Whitmore, I want to be clear that nobody is accusing you of wrongdoing. We need your help establishing what was authorized and what was not.”
I appreciated the distinction.
“Show me everything.”
The first folder contained the forged foundation documents.
The second contained records of payments to a consulting company called Northstar Advisory.
The third held a proposed restructuring of several Whitmore commercial properties.
I recognized two buildings in downtown Manhattan and a Connecticut development that had been under discussion for almost a year.
“What is Northstar Advisory?” I asked.
Daniel cleared his throat.
“A consulting company incorporated nine months ago. It has received approximately four million dollars from entities connected to the foundation and two Whitmore subsidiaries.”
“Who owns it?”
“The registered ownership is held through a corporate service provider. We're still tracing the beneficial owner.”
Hugh tapped the third folder.
“The restructuring would move control of three properties into a private investment vehicle. The documents claim that the foundation approved the transaction.”
I read the paperwork twice.
The arrangement was unnecessarily complicated, full of vague fees and unusual deadlines.
It was also designed to look legitimate to someone who did not understand how the Whitmore businesses operated.
“I've seen this structure before,” I said.
Daniel looked up.
“Where?”
“An acquisition Marcus considered last year. The offer came from a company that used almost identical language.”
Hugh leaned forward.
“Did Marcus reject it?”
“Yes. He said the risk was too high.”
“Do you remember the company's name?”
I searched my memory.
“Carlisle Development Partners.”
Silence settled over the room.
Miriam made a note.
“Eva Carlisle?”
“I don't know whether they're related. I only know that the name appeared in the proposal.”
Daniel opened his laptop.
“I'll investigate the connection.”
I turned another page.
The transaction dates bothered me. Several approvals had supposedly been issued while I was attending a foundation conference in Washington.
I remembered the trip clearly because I had been photographed onstage during the closing session.
“I couldn't have signed this document on that date,” I said. “I was in Washington, and I was with the foundation's director all afternoon.”
Miriam nodded.
“That gives us an independent timeline.”
Hugh studied me with an expression I could not read.
“You always did notice the details.”
“I noticed them because somebody has to.”
He looked toward the windows.
“That's the problem with this family. Too many people believe that being important means being right.”
I closed the folder.
“What happens now?”
“An independent audit. No accusations until we have evidence. And no one involved in these transactions will be allowed to approve further transfers.”
I hesitated.
“Does Marcus know?”
“He knows enough to be concerned.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Hugh met my eyes.
“I have not yet decided how much I believe my grandson knows.”
I left the office with a copy of the documents and a growing suspicion that my husband's affair was only the most visible part of a much larger betrayal.
Somebody had not merely wanted Marcus.
May you like
Somebody wanted access to the Whitmore empire.
And my name had become one of the tools they intended to use.
