Chapter 17 - THE HEARING
Claire moved to replace the judge before sunrise.
The judge recused himself voluntarily and referred the donation for investigation.
Natalie called it a coincidence.
Nobody laughed.
The emergency hearing moved to a federal courtroom downtown.
For the first time, the people whose wages had been treated as accounting dust sat in the front rows.
June was among them.
Maria sat beside her.
Samuel Ortiz.
Kim Wallace.
Dozens more.
Natalie's lawyers argued that freezing Cedar House would destroy Blackwell and cost thousands of jobs.
Claire answered with payroll statements showing employees had already financed Cedar House without consent.
Then June testified.
She did not cry.
She did not perform poverty for the room.
She explained numbers.
What she earned.
What payroll claimed.
What disappeared.
What groceries cost.
What her mother's medication cost.
What it felt like to tell your children you would send money Friday and then skip meals so the promise stayed true.
Natalie's lawyer asked, 'Ms. Carter, nobody forced you to accept this employment, correct?'
June looked at him.
'Nobody told me half my paycheck was imaginary either.'
The courtroom went silent.
The judge froze Cedar House.
The sale could not proceed.
Natalie lost the Friday vote.
But when federal agents arrived at Blackwell Tower to execute a new warrant, she was gone.
Her office computer was missing.
So was a hard-copy ledger Grace had identified the day before.
Security footage showed Natalie leaving through the executive garage at 4:12 p.m.
She was carrying one suitcase.
At 4:20, her car entered Lower Wacker Drive.
Then vanished from traffic cameras.
Owen looked at the still image and went pale.
'She isn't running from the country.'
'How do you know?'
'Because that suitcase isn't money.'
'What is it?'
'Original employee contracts.'
'Why would she need them?'
May you like
He looked at me.
'To prove you knew.'
