Chapter 5 - THE RISE OF THE CARTER ASSET
By 2017, at twenty-eight years old, I had earned my Master's degree in Forensic Financial Auditing and a law degree from Georgetown University.
I had built a reputation in corporate circles as a ruthless, brilliant financial investigator—the person giant firms hired when they suspected someone was embezzling millions through shell companies and complex offshore accounts.
I could trace a missing dollar through six countries, four fake corporations, and thirty encrypted bank transfers in under two hours.
My brothers were now nineteen years old, attending college on full athletic and academic scholarships that I had paid for myself. Aunt Susan was happily retired, living in a quiet cottage in the countryside.
I sat in my corner office on the top floor of a high-rise in downtown Pittsburgh, looking out at the skyline.
My desk was covered with financial ledgers, corporate organizational charts, and court filings.
My assistant, Clara, walked in, placing a steaming cup of black coffee on my desk alongside a thick red folder marked CONFIDENTIAL.
"It arrived ten minutes ago, Ms. Carter," Clara said quietly. "Directly from the board of directors at Mercer Enterprises."
My heart gave a heavy, deliberate beat.
"What do they want?" I asked, keeping my voice smooth.
"Mercer Enterprises is preparing for a massive sixty-billion-dollar merger with an international logistics conglomerate," Clara explained. "But over the last six months, someone inside their executive board has been leaking internal financial records and sabotaging their shipping contracts. They’ve lost nearly eighty million dollars in three months."
I opened the red folder.
Daniel Mercer’s face looked up at me from the top page of the corporate file.
He was fifty-eight years old now. His hair was silver at the temples, his face lined with the weight of commanding an empire for thirty years, but those dark, sharp eyes were exactly the same as the night he had crouched down in front of me at the cash register.
The report indicated that Daniel was facing a silent coup. A rival criminal syndicate—the Moretti family from Philadelphia—had allied with corrupt board members inside Mercer Enterprises to bankrupt the company from the inside and force Daniel into a hostile takeover.
"Did Mr. Mercer request me personally?" I asked Clara.
"No," Clara replied. "His chief legal officer, Leo Vance, submitted the request to our agency. They asked for the best forensic auditor in the state. Our managing partner assigned you."
I closed the folder, stood up, and walked to the window.
Nineteen years.
Nineteen years of waiting, studying, preparing, and sharpening every tool I had to offer.
"Accept the contract," I said, turning back to Clara. "Clear my calendar for the next six months. Cancel all other corporate clients."
Clara looked surprised. "All of them? Ms. Carter, that's three major banks!"
"Tell them I’m unavailable," I said firmly. "I am taking the Mercer contract exclusively."
May you like
I pulled open the top drawer of my desk, reached into the velvet pouch I had carried with me for nearly two decades, and took out the silver coin engraved with $7.86.
It was time to pay my debt.
