“There.”
“You see institutions as guilty.”
“No.”
Imani shook her head.
“I see institutions as capable of mistakes large enough to become somebody else’s catastrophe.”
His smile faded.
“And I also know people use that story to excuse their own mistakes.”
Charles stared.
Imani continued:
“My father did.”
“I loved him.”
“He was still wrong about some things.”
“So if you’re hoping my biography will do your defense work, it won’t.”
Charles’s eyes hardened.
“You’ve done your homework.”
“That’s literally the job.”
He looked toward outside counsel.
Then back.
“What do you want?”
“Records.”
“You have records.”
“I want Northbridge ownership.”
Charles said nothing.
“Crown Performance Partners.”
Silence.
“All executive compensation agreements tied to either entity.”
Still nothing.
“Vault-access logs.”
“Client-call recordings.”
“Trust amendments.”
“Original signatures.”
“Board audit minutes.”
Charles finally spoke.
“That extends beyond your order.”
“Some does.”
“So no.”
Imani nodded.
“Then we subpoena.”
“You may.”
“Good.”
They stared at each other.
Charles smiled.
“You know the problem with forensic accountants?”
Imani waited.
“You confuse finding transactions with understanding business.”
She smiled back.
“You know the problem with bankers?”
He raised one eyebrow.
“You confuse complexity with permission.”
The meeting ended.
At noon, a woman named Lena Ortiz called Imani’s office.
She had been fired from Sterling Crown seven months earlier.
Her message:
I worked treasury reconciliation.
I know what Northbridge is.
Do not call from a bank line.
Imani met her that evening at a diner near O’Hare.
Lena was twenty-eight.
Puerto Rican American.
Former treasury analyst.
Now working accounts payable for a medical distributor.
She arrived carrying a laptop bag she refused to place on the floor.
“I got fired for exporting client information.”
Imani asked:
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
That surprised her.
Lena continued:
“I exported transaction IDs.”
“No names.”
“No balances.”
“Just reference numbers and approval paths.”
“Why?”
“Because they were changing.”
“What was changing?”
“Historical authorization.”
Imani leaned forward.
Lena opened a spreadsheet.
“Bank systems keep audit trails.”
“They’re supposed to.”
“If someone approves a transfer, the user ID remains.”
“Unless there’s a legitimate correction process.”
Imani nodded.
Lena continued:
“Northbridge transfers kept getting corrected after settlement.”
“Corrected how?”
“Approval changed from executive override to client mandate.”
Imani stopped.
“That is not normal.”
“No.”
“How many?”
“I found forty-three.”
“Why export?”
“Because I reported it.”
“To?”
“Graham Vale.”
Imani’s stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
“He thanked me.”
“Then?”
“Three days later, my access changed.”