Chapter 18 - THE WRONG ALLY
Dad wanted to assume Halberd was corrupt.
Grace refused.
“Payments are not motives.”
Nathan dug deeper.
The money to Nora came from a consulting subsidiary affiliated with Halberd, but the descriptions were vague.
Risk analysis.
Portfolio review.
Operational diligence.
Nora had never disclosed outside work.
That violated company policy.
It did not automatically prove conspiracy.
Then Nora called me.
Not Dad.
Me.
“I need to talk.”
“Through Grace.”
“No lawyers.”
“Then no conversation.”
She breathed hard.
“Claire, Damon is going to blame everything on me.”
“Did you help him?”
Silence.
That was enough.
“Grace’s office. One hour.”
She came.
No makeup.
Hair pulled back.
Hands shaking.
Nora admitted she had changed internal codes for Damon.
She admitted she helped route two transfers.
She admitted she knew Morgan Strategic belonged to Lacey.
But she denied forging my signature.
“Why did you do it?”
“Damon told me the company had a liquidity problem Charles was hiding.”
Dad flinched.
“He said if lenders lost confidence, everyone’s jobs were at risk.”
“And Halberd?”
“They hired me to review exposure.”
“While you worked for us?”
“Yes.”
“Did Damon know?”
“Yes.”
Everything had been built on overlapping conflicts.
Each person telling themselves the next unethical decision prevented something worse.
Nora looked at me.
“He said Cedar Ridge would fix it.”
“It wasn’t his land.”
“He said you’d sign.”
“I refused.”
Her eyes filled.
“I know.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
“Yet you kept helping.”
She looked down.
“Yes.”
Dad stood and left the room.
That hurt him differently.
Professional betrayal.
Mine had been intimate.
His had worn employee badges.
Grace asked Nora about Evelyn’s stolen notary seal.
Nora shook her head.
“I didn’t take it.”
“Were you with Damon at Evelyn’s office?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He told me we needed historical certifications.”
“Did you see him take anything?”
“No.”
For a moment I thought we had reached another wall.
Then Nora said, “But I saw the seal later.”
“Where?”
“Damon’s downtown suite.”
My pulse quickened.
“With my laptop?”
“I saw a silver laptop on his desk yesterday.”
Grace leaned forward.
“What else?”
“A portable document scanner. Two company seals. Charles’s signature stamp.”
Dad reentered.
His face had gone white.
“I don’t have a signature stamp.”
Nora looked confused.
“I saw one.”
Grace and I exchanged a glance.
Damon had manufactured an entire document factory.
May you like
And my laptop was sitting at the center of it.
📖 Nora’s confession gave us the insider mechanism, but her description of Damon’s office showed he was still producing documents even after we exposed him. 👇
