Chapter 2 - The First Page Silences Beatrice
Beatrice stared at the folder.
Then she laughed.
It sounded thinner now.
“What is this supposed to be?”
“An independent review of Lumina’s accounts.”
Her friends stopped talking.
I opened the folder.
The first page showed $186,420 in unexplained transfers over fourteen
months.
Not $23,000.
Not an affair alone.
One hundred eighty-six thousand dollars.
Lucas had moved money through a vendor called Pacific Crest Hospitality
Consulting.
The company supposedly handled marketing strategy.
Lumina had never received a marketing report from them.
I turned the page.
Pacific Crest’s registered agent was Daniel Mercer.
Beatrice’s nephew.
Her smile disappeared.
“You’re confused.”
“Am I?”
Then I showed her hotel charges, jewelry purchases, and transfers from
Pacific Crest to an account linked to a woman named Serena Vale.
Beatrice looked toward the door.
I slid the restaurant bill beside the audit.
“Today’s lunch is separate.”
“You’re charging me?”
“You announced publicly that you were paying.”
Her friends looked at her.
Beatrice whispered:
“You wouldn’t dare.”
I smiled.
May you like
“The bigger question is whether Lucas thought I’d dare to audit my own
company.”
