Chapter 6 - The Corporate ConspiracyWhile the charity gala was a personal victory for Edward and Milana, behind the scenes, Richard Hastings was preparing his final, desperate move.
Unable to defeat Edward in business negotiations, Richard conspired with a corrupt insider at the Department of Justice to leak false allegations that Hastings Enterprises had used foreign bribes to secure the East African energy permits.
On Monday morning, federal investigators served a temporary freeze order on the firmâs international operating accounts.
The news hit the financial markets like a bomb: HASTINGS ENTERPRISES FACES FEDERAL BRIBERY INVESTIGATION; SHARES PLUMMET 15%.
The corporate board called an emergency meeting for Friday morning to vote on removing Edward as CEO and appointing Richard as temporary chairman.
In the executive suite, Edward sat with his legal team, looking at a wall of financial ledgers.
âSomeone leaked internal compliance drafts to the DOJ,â Victor Vance reported, shaking his head. âThe drafts were edited to make legitimate community trust payments look like illegal bribes.â
âIt was Richard,â Edward said, his teeth clenching. âHe created the altered drafts.â
âWe need the original, unedited digital ledger logs from the Nairobi bank servers,â Victor explained. âWithout them, we canât clear your name before the board vote on Friday.â
Milana, who sat quietly at the end of the conference table, opened her laptop.
âThe Nairobi bank servers are managed by the Diop Family Trustâs cyber-compliance unit,â Milana revealed softly. âI have direct master access to the immutable blockchain logs.â
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Edward looked at her in surprise. âYou can access the original, unedited wire logs?â
âI can pull the certified cryptographic proof within two hours, Edward,â Milana smiled beneath her veil. âAnd I will present it to the board myself on Friday.â
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