“Good morning, Daniel,” I replied calmly while pouring a fresh cup of coffee.
“The transfers were rejected! My cards aren’t working! What did you do?”
“Are you referring to the corporate expense cards you used for luxury hotels, flights, and personal gifts?”
Silence followed before he tried backtracking. “Audrey, sweetheart, you’re confused.”
“I found twelve suspicious authorizations, three attempted transfers totaling over eleven million dollars, $1.2 million in unauthorized personal expenses, and another $3.6 million paid to Chloe’s firm.”
When he tried to argue that I didn’t understand how the company worked, I smiled. Sterling Global belonged to an irrevocable family trust left entirely to me by my mother. I had appointed Daniel Chief Operating Officer, but not a single voting share had ever been transferred to him. He had confused my lack of interest in office politics with a lack of authority, laughing months ago when he signed an executive clause allowing his operational powers to be instantly suspended upon the discovery of financial fraud.
By 4:15 AM, the board had received my evidence package. By 4:31 AM, they voted unanimously to suspend him. By 5:08 AM, corporate attorneys had issued preservation notices.
When Daniel threatened that I couldn’t prove anything in court, I picked up my tablet and played a crisp audio recording of him and Chloe discussing forged documents and hidden accounts in my private home office weeks earlier.
