Chapter 12 - Ethan’s Version
Claire wanted to dismiss him.
Instead, she listened.
Not because she trusted Ethan.
Because liars sometimes reveal the truth when they are terrified enough.
Arthur arranged for Ethan’s attorney to join by phone. Only then did they sit in a private office at the storage facility.
Ethan looked at Claire’s cheek once and immediately looked away.
“I shouldn’t have hit you.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.”
“I lost control.”
“That explains nothing.”
He nodded, ashamed or pretending to be.
Arthur said, “Talk about Lane.”
Ethan rubbed his hands together. “My father brought him in fifteen years ago. Lane handled problems. Employee theft. Threats. Due diligence. Things that never made the board minutes.”
“And the shell companies?” Claire asked.
Ethan hesitated.
“Yes, I created some of them.”
Madison had told the truth.
Claire’s stomach twisted.
“How many?”
“Four.”
“There are six.”
Ethan looked confused. “Then two aren’t mine.”
Arthur asked, “What were yours for?”
Ethan stared at the floor. “To move debt off the books temporarily.”
“That is not a legal answer,” Arthur said.
“I know.”
Claire’s voice went cold. “You put my name on guarantees.”
“I used documents Dad said you had approved.”
“He stole my credentials.”
Ethan looked genuinely stunned.
“Claire, I didn’t know that.”
She almost laughed.
“You never asked.”
“No.”
“And Beacon?”
“That wasn’t me.”
Madison had said he ordered Hudson invoices.
Claire reminded him.
“I approved Hudson as a consultant,” Ethan said. “I didn’t know where the money went after that.”
Arthur’s expression said he believed very little.
Then Ethan leaned forward.
“Last month I discovered Lane had access to the shell-company accounts. I confronted Dad. He told me to drop it.”
“Why?”
“He said Meridian had survived because certain people knew when not to ask questions.”
Claire stared at him.
Ethan continued, “Two nights ago I told Lane I was firing him.”
“Then why did he reactivate your credentials?”
“I think he wanted it to look like I did whatever happened next.”
Arthur asked, “What was next?”
Ethan’s face tightened.
“The board archive was wiped at four this morning.”
Claire stood.
“All of it?”
“The live system, yes.”
Arthur cursed.
Ethan pulled a small brass key from his pocket.
“But my father keeps an offline backup.”
Claire stared at the key.
“Where?”
May you like
Ethan looked at her.
“In a vault nobody on the board knows exists.”
