Chapter 5 - The First Thread
The first irregularity appeared two years before the wedding, entirely by accident. Julian, eager to take on a larger leadership role in the family’s philanthropic endeavors, had asked Nora to look over a charitable tax document connected to one of Ophelia’s maritime foundations. He was embarrassed, apologizing for mixing their personal lives with business, but Nora happily agreed, viewing it as a simple favor.
Within ten minutes of reviewing the paperwork, Nora’s professional instincts flared. A massive grant issued to a disaster-relief shipping program had been routed through three intermediary shell entities. Two of these entities had no functioning websites, no staff records, and no logical reason to exist other than to obfuscate the movement of capital. She told herself not to overreact—wealthy families often built complex structures for tax purposes. But then another document crossed her desk. Then a shipping invoice with inflated fuel surcharges. Then a customs discrepancy at a port where Fairchild Meridian held massive political sway. The threads were beginning to unravel.
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