Chapter 3
Daniel entered Northstar Biomedical’s conference room Friday morning looking every bit as confident as he had at the airport.
Vanessa came with him.
Marcus was already seated.
Two attorneys sat nearby.
A forensic accountant stood beside a presentation screen.
Then Daniel saw me.
I was sitting at the head of the table.
He stopped walking.
“What are you doing here?”
I gestured toward the chair opposite me.
“Sit.”
Instead, he turned toward Marcus.
“Why is Emily in this meeting?”
Marcus looked at him calmly.
“Because Emily founded Northstar Biomedical.”
Daniel didn’t move.
Vanessa whispered,
“What?”
I pushed a corporate ownership record across the table.
“Seventy-two percent.”
Daniel picked it up.
His face changed.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“This is impossible.”
“You never asked what I was doing while you were living overseas.”
He stared at me.
“You funded my lab?”
“Northstar funded your lab.”
He jumped to his feet.
“This is revenge.”
I didn’t raise my voice.
“Sit down.”
For once, he listened.
The forensic accountant turned on the screen.
Transaction after transaction appeared.
Equipment reimbursements.
Travel claims.
Consulting invoices.
Wire transfers.
Then Vanessa’s business registration appeared.
Her face went white.
Daniel turned sharply toward her.
“You told me that company was closed.”
She snapped back without thinking.
“You told me nobody would ever check!”
Silence filled the room.
I leaned back.
“Thank you, Vanessa.”
She froze.
Daniel’s expression collapsed as he realized what she had just admitted.
I folded my hands.
“Northstar has suspended funding connected to your project while an independent fraud investigation is conducted.”
Daniel stared at me.
“The institute has already received copies of the relevant records.”
His chair scraped backward.
“You’ll destroy years of work.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“The valid research will continue.”
Then I let the next sentence land.
“You simply won’t be the person leading it.”
His hands began shaking.
“You’re doing this because I left you.”
“This has nothing to do with the affair.”
I pushed another file toward him.
“This is about fraud.”
Vanessa stood abruptly.
“I’m leaving.”
Daniel caught her wrist.
“You’re involved too!”
She pulled away.
“You promised nobody would investigate those invoices!”
One of the attorneys looked up.
“For both your sakes, I recommend you stop speaking immediately.”
Neither of them said another word.
And something inside me finally settled.
I wasn’t furious anymore.
May you like
I wasn’t heartbroken.
I was simply finished.
