Chapter 6 - The Audit
With the criminal case moving swiftly toward a grand jury indictment, my next priority was cleaning house at Morgan Atlantic.
For years, Ethan had positioned his friends, distant relatives, and incompetent acquaintances into mid-level management positions across our distribution network. Now that he was behind bars, it was time to perform a radical, unsparing corporate audit.
On Tuesday morning, I walked into the main boardroom at our South Portland headquarters.
Seated around the long mahogany table were the department heads, regional logistics directors, and senior operational managers—many of whom had spent months grumbling privately about Ethan’s lazy management style and unearned authority.
When I opened the double doors and walked in, the entire room stood up in respectful silence.
“Please, sit,” I said, walking steadily to the head of the table.
I didn't waste time with pleasantties. I placed my leather briefcase on the surface, opened it, and slid a series of pink termination slips across the polished wood toward the HR director.
“Effective immediately,” I announced, my voice clear and commanding, “every advisory position, executive liaison role, and consulting contract held by individuals associated with the Caldwell family is terminated. No severance. No extension.”
A murmur of quiet approval rippled through the senior managers.
“Furthermore,” I continued, scanning the faces around the room, “we are initiating a comprehensive forensic audit of all procurement contracts signed over the past four years. Any vendor found to have been kickbacking funds through shell companies controlled by Ethan or his relatives will be handed over to federal prosecutors before the end of the week.”
Frank Miller, the veteran shipping supervisor who had helped pull open Freezer 12, raised his hand respectfully.
“What about the distribution hubs, Mrs. Caldwell?” Frank asked. “Ethan spent the last six months shifting our primary maintenance contracts to a low-bid contractor out of Boston.”
“Cancel every single one of them today, Frank,” I replied without hesitation. “Re-sign with our original local providers. I want our facilities operating at peak safety and transparency standards by Friday.”
As the meeting adjourned and the managers filed out to execute the directives, Frank lingered behind by the door.
May you like
“Glad to have you back at the helm, Claire,” he said quietly, offering a warm, weathered smile. “We all knew Ethan was riding your coattails. None of us ever imagined he was insane enough to try and cut the horse out from under you.”
“Neither did I, Frank,” I replied softly. “Neither did I.”
