Chapter 6 - The Audit Of Sins
I stopped three paces in front of the turnstile, looking at Brendan as though he were an insect crawling across a clean floor.
Behind him, through the glass revolving doors, Jessica and Diane were watching in horrified silence.
“You look tired, Brendan,” I remarked calmly, my voice carrying effortlessly across the cavernous lobby.
“The diner coffee didn't agree with you?”
Brendan grabbed the top of the glass turnstile, leaning forward with pleading eyes.
“Cassidy, we need to talk in private.”
“In my office.”
“Upstairs.”
“You don't have an office here, Brendan,” I replied, gesturing slightly with two fingers.
Director Vance opened the top folder in his hands and read aloud for the entire lobby to hear.
“Audit file number 884-B.”
“Over the past three fiscal years, Mr. Brendan Morrison has systematically funneled 42 million dollars into offshore shell accounts registered in the Cayman Islands under the name 'Jessica Palmer Investments'.”
A sharp gasp rippled through the gathering crowd of employees.
Brendan’s knees visibly buckled.
“Furthermore,” Vance continued with clinical detachment, “Mr. Morrison authorized corporate leases on three luxury villas in Saint-Tropez for Mrs. Diane Morrison, billing them falsely as corporate logistics research hubs.”
“He also billed an eight-carat diamond bracelet purchased from Cartier directly to the employee medical pension reserve fund.”
“That is false!” Brendan screamed, his voice cracking into high-pitched hysteria.
“Those were executive discretionary allocations approved by the board!”
“The board that consisted of your father, your uncle, and your mother?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.
“The board that I dissolved at midnight because its existence violated section four of the Apex Master Charter?”
I took a step closer to the glass barrier, looking directly into Brendan’s bloodshot eyes.
“You thought you were a business genius, Brendan.”
“You thought you were born into greatness.”
“The only reason your little logistics division ever turned a profit was because Apex Vanguard routed our international cargo contracts through your name to keep you from feeling inferior.”
“I subsidized your entire existence so you could feel like a proud man.”
“And how did you repay that kindness?”
“You brought your mistress to our family dinner.”
“You watched your mother pour filthy ice water over your pregnant wife.”
“And you laughed.”
Tears of raw, undiluted panic finally welled in Brendan’s eyes.
“I was stupid, Cassidy!”
“I was drunk!”
“I didn't mean it!”
“I love you!”
“I have always loved you!”
“We are having a daughter, Cassidy—our little girl!”
“You can't do this to her father!”
From outside the glass doors, Jessica suddenly burst into the lobby, having pushed past the exterior doorman.
Her designer mascara was smeared down her cheeks, her face twisted in frantic rage.
“Brendan, what did he mean about the offshore accounts?” Jessica shrieked, grabbing Brendan’s collar.
“Did you tell them about my father’s contract?”
“You promised that money was completely clean!”
“My father’s firm signed that guarantee based on your word!”
The crowd of employees erupted into frantic whispers, dozens of smartphones coming out to record the unfolding drama.
I raised a single hand, and the room instantly fell dead silent.
“Miss Palmer,” I said, turning my gaze toward Jessica.
“The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission were briefed at 5:00 AM.”
“Federal warrants have already been executed at your father’s logistics brokerage.”
“By noon today, every single asset associated with Palmer Maritime will be frozen pending criminal indictment.”
Jessica let out a choked, suffocated gasp, clutching her throat as if the air had suddenly vanished from the room.
She looked at Brendan with pure, unadulterated hatred.
“You ruined me,” she hissed, slapping Brendan across the face with a sickening crack.
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“You miserable, penniless fraud!”
“You told me you owned the world!”
