Page 53
I didn’t.
The kicker is a paragraph that turns a corporate scandal into a federal nightmare:
Provisioning for the consultant within the Department of Justice has been finalized. Totaling $12.5 million for the current quarter, these funds ensure the suspension of the inquiry.
My stomach drops into a cold, dark void. This isn’t just a security flaw. This is a bribe, a massive, high-level, treasonous bribe to a DOJ official. As I watch the scrolling news ticker at the bottom of my screen, the words DOJ Investigation Launched appear in bold red.
How is this possible?
“It’s not just the memo. I found the paper trail for the other money, too. The stuff that wasn't in the leak.” The voice of the Ghost speaks; proof that I’m not going crazy and talking to myself. Not yet anyway.
“How much?” I ask.
“Fifty million,” he says. “I tracked the routing. It’s a labyrinth. It went through a shell company in the Caymans, jumped to a Panamanian trust, then went into a dozen different crypto wallets before landing in a private account.”
Multiple files pop up on my screen. The names of the shell companies are absurd: Morningstar Holdings, Crown Jewel Investments, Icarus Ventures.
It’s the last one that makes the cold pit in my stomach grow. “Who owns Icarus?”
“I can’t prove the ultimate beneficiary yet,” the Ghost says. “But I traced the initial seed money for the shell network back to a personal line of credit, a very particular one.”
On the screen, a document pops up with a signature. It’s sloppy, arrogant, and I know it as well as I know my own.
“Jesse,” I mutter, dragging a hand down my face.
“Jesse made some bad bets, Sebastian. I’m talking catastrophic. High-leverage short positions on tech stocks that rallied, a failed luxury resort in Dubai that’s literally sinking into the sand, and some extracurricular gambling in offshore casinos. He was underwater by $40 million. Then, suddenly, this $50 million infusion hits his accounts. He cleared his debts and kept ten for the trouble.”
“And the source of that $50 million?” I ask, leaning back in my chair and shoving my palms into my eyes until it hurts.
“That’s the black hole. It’s routed through the same channels as the DOJ bribe mentioned in the memo. Whoever’s paying off the Feds is also bailing out your brother.”
Fucking hell. It feels like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my back. Jesse isn't just a screwup. He’s a liability that has been bought and paid for. He’s the crack in the foundation that’s going to bring the whole tower down.
Before I can say anything else, the heavy double doors of my office swing open.
“I’ll call you back,” I mutter and hang up.
Speak of the fucking devil.
Jesse marches in a perfectly tailored suit, his hair swept back with practiced nonchalance. But something in my youngest brother’s eyes raises my hackles.
Does he know? Is he involved? Or is he just a pawn who took money he shouldn't have?
“We need to talk,” Jesse says.
“Then shut the damn door and tell me what’s going on. You have ten minutes, and then I have to get back to work. You have no idea what I’m dealing with right now.”
“Oh, quit the theatrics,” Jesse snaps as he shuts the doors.
“There’s nothing theatrical about this,” I shoot back. “If you haven’t already heard, the DOJ is at the proverbial door, Jesse. Their eyes are on every server, every file, every cent we own. Do you realize what kind of trouble we’re in?”
My brother stalks to the liquor cabinet and pours himself a finger of scotch without asking. It’s ten in the morning. “I haven’t been living under a rock, Seb. You know as well as I do that the memo was a hit piece. Someone’s trying to tank the stock so they can buy us for pennies on the dollar. And you’re playing right into it with your human capital plans and your PR.”
I take a deep breath to calm my rising anger. “It’s not just a hit piece, Jesse. You know that. It has to do with the $50 million that ended up in your pocket to cover your gambling debts.”
Jesse freezes, the glass halfway to his lips. He turns slowly, his face pale.
“Didn’t think I’d find out about that, did you?” I can’t help the sneer. “While you’ve been out there, making bad bets and spending money you’ve never earned, I’ve been here trying to save this company, the exact place that the money comes from.”
