Chapter 12 - THE FORGED CFO
The authorization looked perfect.
Howard’s signature.
Howard’s token.
Howard’s internal code.
He swore it was false.
Samantha believed him.
Not because she trusted him.
Because the timing made no sense.
If Howard wanted Jonathan paid secretly, he would not use an account auditors checked monthly.
Someone wanted investigators to find Howard.
Just late enough.
Marcus traced the login.
Remote access.
Credentials valid.
Device fingerprint:
Derek’s company laptop.
Derek’s attorney called it planted evidence.
Then IT found the laptop had connected from Derek’s home office at the exact time.
He had used Howard’s authorization profile.
How did he get it?
Howard looked ashamed.
“I gave him emergency finance access last year.”
Samantha almost laughed.
Everyone in her life had given Derek something.
Passwords.
Authority.
Access.
Trust.
He turned all of it into ownership.
Then the forensic accountants finished Blackridge’s money trail.
The missing two million entered Blackridge.
Blackridge used part of it to finance offers for Carter Performance assets.
Derek stood to receive twenty percent.
Jonathan eighty.
Howard no equity.
But Howard had been promised a board chair position.
Everyone had a future except Samantha.
The company was being reorganized around her absence while she still owned it.
The board suspended Derek permanently.
Police filed fraud-related charges concerning unauthorized transfers and credential misuse.
The extortion investigation against Samantha remained open.
That surprised the media.
Why?
Because her conduct was still real.
She had compelled the transfer.
Naomi advised a settlement with prosecutors.
Return the two million to court escrow.
Accept a deferred charge if available.
Complete governance and ethics review.
Samantha hated it.
Then understood.
Winning did not mean pretending her choice was acceptable.
She agreed.
Derek heard.
He laughed through his attorney.
“She blinked.”
Naomi smiled.
“No.”
Samantha signed the escrow order.
“She stopped giving you ammunition.”
Then Derek made his last corporate move.
Blackridge withdrew its asset offer.
And immediately filed a lawsuit claiming Carter Performance had destroyed Blackridge’s value through defamatory accusations.
If Derek could not buy the company cheaply, he would make the company pay him for failing.
May you like
But Jonathan Price had one more document.
A document Derek had never seen.
