Chapter 7 - The Name Behind Northstar
Northstar Advisory had been formed six years earlier in Delaware.
Its original owner was hidden behind a registered agent.
That was legal.
It was also convenient.
Detective Brooks obtained corporate records through investigators working with federal authorities.
The company had changed ownership eighteen months earlier.
The new owner was Claudia.
But before Claudia, Northstar's manager had been someone else.
Victor Hale.
Ethan stared at the report in disbelief.
“So Sarah found Victor's company.”
“Apparently,” Brooks said.
“And Claudia later bought it from him.”
“For one dollar.”
Henry gave a bitter laugh.
“A generous transaction.”
Ethan stood from the conference table.
They were meeting at Langford Development's downtown office because the mansion no longer felt secure.
Oliver remained with Nora and a child-services specialist.
Henry had resisted leaving him.
Oliver had insisted.
“Go,” he had said. “Find out why she did it.”
Those words followed Henry into the boardroom.
Brooks continued.
“Northstar received approximately two-point-four million dollars during the last eighteen months.”
Ethan's face tightened.
“From whom?”
“Multiple sources.”
She slid the report toward him.
Three payments came from Hale Strategic Holdings.
Four came from subcontractors that worked on Langford projects.
Two came from a consulting firm owned by one of Victor's former employees.
Henry read the numbers.
“This is a kickback structure.”
“We're investigating.”
Ethan leaned against the window.
“How didn't our auditors see this?”
“Because none of the payments came directly from Langford.”
Henry understood.
“Victor used vendors.”
Brooks nodded.
“A subcontractor gets a favorable contract or inflated change order. Money moves afterward.”
Ethan looked sick.
“I approved some of those contractors.”
“That doesn't mean you knew.”
Henry said nothing.
Ethan noticed.
“You think I did?”
“I think you stopped asking questions because you wanted the Hale deal.”
“I wanted the company stable.”
“You wanted me out of your way.”
“That too.”
The admission surprised Henry.
For years father and son had fought over control.
Henry still acted like the founder who needed to approve everything.
Ethan still acted like the son desperate to prove he no longer needed approval.
Victor had understood that.
So had Claudia.
Brooks opened another file.
“We also recovered exterior security footage from the mansion.”
Henry looked confused.
“Our system was partially disabled.”
“Interior cameras were. The gate camera wasn't.”
The footage showed Claudia's SUV leaving the estate repeatedly late at night.
Three times during the last month, another car had entered after Ethan traveled.
Registered to Victor Hale.
Ethan stared at the frozen frame.
“No.”
Henry watched him.
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
Brooks spoke carefully.
“We're not making assumptions about the nature of their relationship.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“You don't need to.”
He stood and walked out.
Henry found him five minutes later in the empty hallway.
Ethan pressed both hands against the wall.
“I brought her into his life.”
“Ethan—”
“I married her.”
“You didn't put Oliver in that trunk.”
“I ignored him.”
Henry didn't answer.
Ethan looked at his father.
“Oliver told me she scared him once.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
Henry's expression hardened.
“What did he say?”
“He said Claudia went through his room and yelled because he touched papers in my office.”
“And?”
“I told him she was stressed.”
Henry closed his eyes.
Ethan's voice cracked.
“I told him to be nicer to her.”
For once Henry did not criticize.
He stepped beside his son.
“You were wrong.”
Ethan nodded.
“Yes.”
“That isn't the same as being beyond repair.”
Ethan looked at him.
“How do I tell him that?”
“You don't.”
“What?”
“You show him.”
Brooks came into the hall.
“We've got something else.”
They returned to the boardroom.
A technician had recovered deleted messages from an older company backup.
One exchange was between Victor and Claudia.
Victor: Henry won't sign while the boy is around him constantly.
Claudia: Then the boy won't be around.
Victor: Ethan won't agree.
Claudia: Ethan agrees to what he thinks is his own idea.
The message was eight months old.
Ethan stared at it.
Henry read the next one.
Victor: And if the old man refuses?
Claudia: We make everyone believe he shouldn't be making decisions anymore.
Henry looked up.
Nobody spoke.
Because the plan was no longer theoretical.
Claudia had been targeting both of them.
Oliver for removal.
Henry for incapacity.
May you like
Ethan for manipulation.
And Victor had known.
