Chapter 3 - The Audit Begins
By 7:30 the following morning, the executive suite at Whitmore Grand Chicago was in an absolute state of chaos.
Adrian stood in his office, his white shirt rumpled, his hair disheveled, staring at his chief technical officer who was frantically typing on a laptop.
"What do you mean her location signal died?" Adrian shouted, slamming his fist onto the mahogany desk. "She’s seven months pregnant! She can't just vanish!"
"Her phone was deactivated at 11:42 p.m. near the river concourse, Mr. Whitmore," the officer stammered, his face pale. "And... there’s another problem."
"What problem?"
"The primary accounting server for the regional holdings has been placed under an automated compliance hold."
Adrian’s breath caught in his throat. "A compliance hold? By whom?"
"The notification carries the digital signature of the Regional Forensic Audit Board," the officer replied, turning the screen toward his boss. "All transfers over five hundred thousand dollars executed within the last ninety days have been frozen pending manual verification."
Before Adrian could answer, the double doors of his office swung open, and Sienna Vale walked in, her face pale, her phone glued to her ear.
"Adrian, my agent just called," Sienna panicked, her voice cracking. "The ad campaign for Whitmore Hotels has been pulled from the morning news networks!"
"They said the contract is being reviewed due to corporate compliance irregularities!"
Adrian sank into his leather chair, the cold realization hitting him like a physical blow.
The petition for emergency guardianship he had laid beside the ultrasound photo hadn't scared Claire into submission.
May you like
It had triggered the master forensic protocol she had built into the corporate framework before they ever walked down the aisle.
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