CHAPTER 3 — The Ledger
A black tablet was placed in Benjamin’s hand.
He tapped once.
The projector at the far end of the ballroom flickered on.
At first, it showed guest seating charts.
Then expense logs.
Then names.
Ethan Whitmore appeared first.
Private transfers.
Unapproved accounts.
Luxury charges routed through “consulting expenses.”
Ethan stood up.
“Turn that off,” he snapped. “That’s internal finance—”
“It is,” Benjamin said. “Yours. Or rather… what was left of it before compliance flagged it.”
Madison’s voice broke sharper now.
“This is illegal. You can’t just expose private—”
“I didn’t expose anything,” Benjamin interrupted.
A pause.
“I audited it.”
That word changed the air.
Audit.
Not accusation.
Not rumor.
Verification.
Emma’s eyes slowly moved from the screen to Ethan’s face.
For the first time, he wasn’t smirking.
May you like
He was calculating escape routes.
None existed.
