Chapter 4 - The Corporate Audit
By Monday morning at 8:00 AM, the glass-and-steel headquarters of Montgomery-Vance Logistics in downtown Columbus was in a state of absolute lockdown.
Marcus Vance and a team of six forensic accountants from Deloitte arrived before the sun was fully up, carrying court-ordered subpoenas and physical asset preservation demands.
I walked through the glass lobby wearing a tailored navy suit, my dark hair pulled back into a tight, professional bun. Beside me walked Marcus, while my assistant, Sarah, carried two heavy legal boxes containing seven years of original software patent filings.
When we stepped off the elevator onto the ninth-floor executive suite, we found Diane Montgomery standing outside Graham’s office door, arguing furiously with two uniformed corporate security guards who were refusing to let her enter.
"This is outrageous!" Diane shrieked, her voice echoing down the carpeted hallway as she spotted me. "Claire! Tell these apes to step aside! I have personal items inside that office!"
"Those items are now evidence in a state corporate fraud investigation, Diane," I said smoothly, stepping past her to scan my master keycard against the electronic lock.
The green light beeped, and the heavy glass door unlocked.
"You have no right to freeze these offices!" Diane yelled, trying to push past the security guard, but the heavy man politely blocked her path with his broad arm. "Graham is the CEO! He has not been removed by the board!"
"As of 6:00 AM this morning," Marcus Vance spoke up, pulling a white document from his coat, "an emergency board meeting was convened via teleconference. With Claire voting her forty-eight percent equity share, along with the four percent voting control held by June’s trust, a fifty-two percent absolute majority was established."
Diane froze, her eyes wide with shock. "What?"
"Graham Montgomery has been officially relieved of his duties as Chief Executive Officer," Marcus announced coldly. "The board has appointed Claire Vance as interim CEO, effective immediately."
Diane’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "You... you can't do that! That's illegal! Graham built this company's market value!"
"The company's market value," I said, leaning over the threshold of the CEO office, "was built on my automated freight algorithms, which Graham attempted to secretly license to your shell company in Nevis last Tuesday."
I turned to the lead security officer. "Officer, please escort Mrs. Montgomery off the premises. If she attempts to enter the building again, have her arrested for criminal trespass."
"You wretched little peasant!" Diane spat, her voice cracking as the security guard gently took her by the elbow and began guiding her back toward the elevator bank. "You think you've won?! My late husband's estate has deep roots in this city! We will tie you up in litigation for ten years! You will be broke before that bastard child turns two!"
I didn't answer her. I stepped into the CEO office, pulled back the heavy velvet curtains to let the morning sunlight flood the room, and sat down in the high-backed leather chair behind the grand mahogany desk.
On the desk sat a framed photograph of Graham and his mother taken three years ago at a charity gala.
I picked up the frame, took the photograph out, and placed it face down inside the bottom drawer of the desk.
Then, I opened my laptop, brought up the master accounting dashboard, and looked at the green line showing our primary operational software running across forty states.
Sarah stepped into the room, setting a warm cup of coffee on my desk.
"What's our first order of business, Ms. Vance?" Sarah asked.
May you like
I looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the skyline of Columbus, feeling the cool, steady beat of my heart.
"Cancel Graham’s corporate credit cards," I said. "And call the State Attorney General's Office. It's time to show them where the four million dollars went."
