Chapter 14 - THE DEAD MAN'S CONTRACTJulian had never discussed his father's business dealings with Iris in detail.
His father, Thomas Vance, had built the original Vance investment firm decades earlier. He had died when Julian was thirty, leaving behind a complicated network of investments, private loans, and contractual obligations.
Among those records was an agreement with Charles Corrigan.
The document concerned a restructuring plan designed to keep Corrigan Health Systems solvent during a period of severe financial pressure.
According to the agreement, Vance Capital had provided emergency financing in exchange for certain reporting protections and rights to review the company's books.
The contract was legitimate.
But its final amendment was not.
Iris sat beside Julian in his private study while his attorneys examined the original documents.
"The amendment says your father agreed to waive his rights to review the charitable accounts," she said.
"Yes."
"Was it signed?"
"Apparently."
"Did your father tell you about it?"
"No."
She studied the signature.
It looked authentic.
Yet the date placed the amendment three days after Thomas Vance had been hospitalized.
"Who witnessed it?"
Julian turned the page.
"Nadia Mercer."
Iris stared at him.
"Nadia worked with your father?"
"She was a junior adviser at the time. She left the firm shortly afterward."
"Why would she witness an amendment that benefited Charles Corrigan?"
"That is what we need to find out."
His attorney entered with a new document.
"We've located the original electronic filing record. The amendment was uploaded from an office terminal assigned to Nadia Mercer."
"Was it signed electronically?" Julian asked.
"No. It was scanned."
"Can we establish whether the original paper existed?"
"Not yet."
Iris leaned forward.
"The second ledger shows that the transfers accelerated after this amendment. If the amendment was forged, someone used it to block oversight."
"Possibly," the attorney replied. "But we need forensic confirmation before making that allegation."
Julian nodded.
"Then get it."
After the attorney left, Iris turned toward her husband.
"Do you think your father knew what was happening?"
Julian looked at the old contract.
"I don't know."
"Do you think he could have approved the amendment without understanding the consequences?"
"Yes."
"Then we need to separate what we can prove from what we fear."
He looked at her.
"You sound like a judge."
"No. I sound like someone who has watched people destroy lives because they wanted a simple villain."
Julian reached for her hand.
"I won't let anyone turn my father's name into a weapon."
"Nor should you."
His phone rang.
The caller was the head of security at Vance Strategic Capital.
"Sir, we've identified the person who accessed the authorization files."
"Who?"
"Your senior finance director, Daniel Cross."
Julian frowned.
"Daniel has worked for us for eight years."
"We also found evidence that he transferred confidential records to an external account."
"Where is he?"
"He's not in the office. His badge was used to enter the archive room at 5:42 yesterday morning."
Iris stood.
"Can we locate the external account?"
"We're trying."
Julian's expression hardened.
"Preserve every record and notify counsel. No one confronts him without authorization."
The security director hesitated.
"Sir, there's one more thing. Daniel's company-issued phone was found in a taxi this morning."
"Was Daniel inside?"
"No."
Julian ended the call.
The forged authorization had come from inside his company.
Nadia had witnessed the suspicious amendment.
And Daniel Cross had disappeared.
May you like
The scandal was no longer simply about missing charitable funds.
It was about a network of people who had spent years protecting one another.
Related Stories
