Chapter 15 - THE PRICE OF TRUST
I had been running the Swift companies since Julian was a boy. My office was protected by key cards, passwords, guards, and the smug belief that I knew every person who came through its door.
That belief had almost cost my family everything.
"Who?" I asked Julian.
"I don't know. But the leak started before you went to Switzerland."
Theo helped investigators review access records. They identified an executive assistant who had been authorized to send duplicate files to Mercer under a standing instruction. The instruction carried my electronic signature.
I stared at it. "I never approved this."
"Your login was used while you were in Geneva," Theo said.
Naomi pulled up the same period's foundation transfers. Hundreds of tiny payments had been bundled into apparently ordinary operating expenses. The money went to contractors that barely existed.
My eyes landed on one invoice: CHILD WELFARE CONSULTING.
"They used Maya," I whispered. "Even on paper, they used her."
The assistant agreed to speak with Quinn. She said Mercer told her the extra reports were part of an internal audit. When she grew suspicious, Halden warned that she'd lose her job and her health insurance if she asked questions.
"You built a company where people were afraid to tell you the truth," Julian said quietly when I repeated her explanation.
I bristled. "I never threatened that woman."
"I know. But you gave people like Mercer enough power to do it for you."
It hurt because it was true. I'd always believed a strong leader kept everyone in line. I was beginning to understand that fear had protected the wrong people.
May you like
Before I could answer, Naomi called. Investigators had secured a financial account tied to Mercer, and a judge had authorized the next stage of their search.
"There's one more thing," she said. "Vanessa just disappeared from the house where she's been staying. And the police found a floor plan of your safe house in her car."
