Chapter 7 - Vanessa's Secret Ledger
The federal marshals slapped steel handcuffs onto Adrian’s wrists before he could pull his shoes on, while a second agent secured Vanessa against the floral wallpaper.
“Adrian Cole, you are being placed under arrest for wire fraud and money laundering,” the lead marshal announced.
As Vanessa was being led out in her bathrobe, her oversized leather handbag spilled its contents across the floor. Among the spilled lipstick tubes and receipts was a small, black Moleskine notebook with a red elastic band.
A marshal picked it up, flipping through the pages. “Sir, look at this. It’s a handwritten ledger of kickbacks and offshore accounts. It looks like she was keeping receipts on Adrian just in case.”
When the notebook landed on my desk at Halcyon Tower three hours later, I opened it with white cotton gloves. The meticulous handwriting confirmed every suspicion I had harbored. Vanessa hadn't just been Adrian’s secretary and mistress; she had been running a shadow operation inside the company, systematically undermining department heads.
May you like
I picked up my phone and dialed Marcus. “Marcus, add Vanessa Reed to the criminal indictment immediately. Let her notebook serve as Exhibit B.”
“Done,” Marcus replied smoothly. “Her defense attorney just dropped her case.”
