THEY CALLED THE MAID A THIEF IN FRONT OF THE MAFIA BOSS—THEN THE SECURITY FOOTAGE SHOCKED EVERYONE

The following morning, James met Maya in a private conference room overlooking the estate's gardens.

A pot of coffee sat untouched between them. On the wall, a digital display showed a timeline of transactions linked to Northstar Strategic Holdings.

Maya stood beside the screen with a marker in her hand.

"The company was registered seven years ago," she explained. "It reported no meaningful business activity. Its listed office was a rented mailbox, and its directors changed three times in two years."

James folded his arms.

"Why would my company pay it?"

"According to the transaction notes, it provided risk-management consulting."

"We have an internal risk department."

"Exactly."

She circled the payment date.

"Someone authorized a consulting fee of two million dollars. The invoice uses a vendor code that was retired last year."

James looked at Cross.

"Who approved it?"

"Daniel Voss's division submitted the request. Final approval came through a delegated account."

"Whose account?"

Cross hesitated.

"Yours."

The room fell silent.

James's face hardened.

"I did not approve that payment."

"We know," Cross replied. "The approval record may have been generated through a compromised credential."

Maya examined the metadata.

"Do you use a hardware security key?"

"For major transactions."

"Then we need to know whether the transaction was approved through that key or through a secondary administrative channel."

Cross nodded.

"I'll have the security team investigate."

Maya wrote another name on the board.

"There's something else. Northstar shares a registered agent with three companies from my original audit. All three received money from Halloran Whitmore's investment portfolio."

James stared at the names.

"How many companies are involved?"

"I counted eleven in the original ledger. There may be more."

"Where did the money go?"

"Some transfers ended in offshore accounts. Others returned to domestic businesses as apparently legitimate revenue. The pattern suggests layering, but I can't determine the full scope without bank records."

James leaned forward.

"Could Voss have stolen from both companies?"

"Possibly. Or someone may be using his division to move money without his knowledge. We need evidence before assigning responsibility."

James nodded.

"You're careful."

"I have to be."

"Because of what happened to you?"

"Because people can survive being wrong. They don't always survive being confidently wrong about someone powerful."

James looked at her for a long moment.

Then he said, "You should be running an audit department, not cleaning my gallery."

Maya's expression remained guarded.

"I was running one."

"And someone took it from you."

"They tried to take my credibility. The job was only the beginning."

She put the marker down.

"I don't want a pity promotion, Mr. Kang."

"I wasn't offering pity."

"Then what were you offering?"

"An opportunity to do the work you're clearly qualified to do."

Maya studied him.

"On what terms?"

"Independent authority. Direct access to the records relevant to this investigation. Your findings go to outside counsel and an independent review committee, not just to me."

She looked surprised.

"You'd let someone investigate your own company without controlling the report?"

"If I have nothing to hide, I shouldn't need to control it."

For the first time, Maya smiled.

It was brief, but James noticed.

"There's one more condition," she said.

"Of course there is."

"If the evidence implicates you, I report it."

James did not hesitate.

"Agreed."

They shook hands.

By noon, Maya had been appointed as a temporary forensic consultant under an independent engagement. Her role would be limited to the investigation, and all records would be preserved under legal oversight.

The arrangement was unusual, but James insisted on it.

That afternoon, Maya began reviewing transaction files.

She found three payments routed through Northstar, then two more through a different company. Each transfer carried a reference number that matched the fragments she had memorized at Halloran Whitmore.

It was enough to confirm that the same financial network had operated across both organizations.

Then she opened a file labeled ARCHIVE—SPECIAL APPROVALS.

Inside was a scanned document bearing James's electronic signature.

The approval date was six months earlier.

Maya checked the metadata.

The signature had been applied from an access terminal located in a building James had never visited.

She printed the record and carried it to his office.

"This is either identity theft or evidence of a much deeper internal compromise."

James studied the document.

"Who had access to that terminal?"

Cross checked the log.

"Only three people."