Chapter 17 - THE SIGNATURE ON THE CONTRACT
The audit began immediately.
Valeria instructed the forensic team to examine every acquisition Marcus had touched during his eighteen months as regional manager.
The first discovery came two days later.
The $4.8 million payment was not isolated.
There were seven similar transactions.
Different companies.
Different dates.
The same pattern.
Small consulting firms received enormous payments shortly before Salazar Enterprises acquired assets connected to them.
Daniel placed the chart on Valeria's desk.
“Someone was moving money before the acquisitions.”
Valeria stared at the numbers.
“Who benefited?”
“That’s what we're trying to determine.”
Then the forensic accountant entered.
“We found something else.”
He placed a scanned document on the table.
“The signature was digitally inserted.”
Valeria looked up.
“So Marcus forged my name?”
“Not exactly.”
The accountant zoomed in.
“The signature belongs to a scanned copy of an old document.”
Valeria recognized it immediately.
Her mother's estate authorization.
A document signed by her mother years before she died.
Someone had copied the signature.
And somehow, they had access to an archived family document.
Valeria felt a chill.
Marcus had not possessed that document.
Not while he was married to her.
Only a handful of people had ever had access to the family archives.
One of them was still inside Salazar Enterprises.
Valeria looked at Daniel.
“Don't confront anyone yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if someone has been hiding this for three years, they'll know exactly how to hide it again.”
She closed the file.
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“This time, I want them to think we haven't noticed.”
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