Chapter 2 · Twelve Slaps Cost Him His Entire Empire

The next morning, rumors started swirling around Dalton.

For the new product approval project Sylvia was in charge of, some money just didn't add up.

The news came out of procurement first. Someone had spotted an irregularity while checking supplier payment records. The amount wasn't large, and the route it took was strange.

The head of procurement didn't make a scene. He quietly passed the spreadsheet to Michael.

Michael read it through and said nothing except one question. "Who approved this?"

The procurement supervisor quietly replied with a name.

Michael locked the spreadsheet away in his drawer.

That same day, I got a package delivered to my apartment.

Inside was a stack of photocopies with no sender and no message, and a slip of paper tucked into the first page.

[You should've seen these before I did.]

I flipped through the photocopies from start to finish, taking about ten minutes.

Then I picked up my phone and called Rachel.

"Rachel, add one more thing to the list. That distributor rebate at Dalton Pharmaceuticals last August. I want the approval chain it went through and the name of the person who signed off."

On the phone, Rachel asked, "Is this connected to the thing you had me start?"

"It is," I replied.

"I'll get on it today," Rachel said.

I hung up and flipped through the photocopies again, spotting a number tucked in the corner of one page.

I knew that number by heart.

That money was supposed to be a cash injection from my own account to Dalton Pharmaceuticals.

Sylvia broke it up into three payments, each under a different supplier's name, and funneled them straight into her own project.

That was when I finally understood it. When Sylvia stood behind James with her eyes red, she wasn't only playing the victim.

She was genuinely scared.

She was terrified of that brown paper bag I brought into the conference room yesterday.

Everything inside was about this whole mess.

*****

James spent the whole morning on the bank.

The people at Metro Bank were polite, and they gave away nothing.

"Mr. Dalton, we understand your position. For the credit renewal we need an additional confirmation letter, because we have to verify the authorization status of one of the signatories."

James tried to keep his cool. "Whose authorization?"

The caller just gave him a number, didn't mention any name.

Henry Cole spent five minutes checking and came back with a printout and a grim face.

"Mr. Dalton, that number belongs to Mrs. Dalton."

James sat behind his desk, silent for several seconds.

He knew a few things were held in my name. When we got married, the two families had put some paperwork in place, and he had skimmed it and treated it as a formality.

He never imagined that those "formalities" would actually end up blocking Dalton Pharmaceuticals' business.

At two o'clock, Brightwell Corp. responded.

Their answer was even blunter than the bank's. "Mr. Dalton, we aren't holding anything up. One of your core licenses has been pulled, so our compliance team can't sign off."

James asked, "Which core authorization?"

The caller paused for a couple of seconds. "That's internal to your company, so I shouldn't say more. Ask your legal team."

James hung up and told Henry to bring in Susan Lewis, Dalton Pharmaceuticals' head of legal.

When Susan arrived, she was carrying a stack of folders, and her face was calm while her brow stayed tight.

James cut straight to the chase. "What does she have to do with all these suspensions?"

Susan didn't answer right away. She set the folder on the desk, flipped to a page, and pointed to a line in the document.

"Mr. Dalton, several of Dalton Pharmaceuticals' long-term partnership agreements have run on licenses held in Ms. Wynn's name for years.

"They don't normally go through formal approval, and the moment she pulls them, every renewal, every bank endorsement, and every letter of comfort from a partner goes back into review."

"Under her name? Who made that call?" James demanded.

Susan looked at him. "That structure was set when Dalton Pharmaceuticals was founded. Nobody signed off on it. It was built that way from the beginning."

James straightened up, bracing himself on the desk.

For the first time, James felt that some things had never been what he assumed.

Chapter 2

The next morning, rumors started swirling around Dalton.

For the new product approval project Sylvia was in charge of, some money just didn't add up.

The news came out of procurement first. Someone had spotted an irregularity while checking supplier payment records. The amount wasn't large, and the route it took was strange.

The head of procurement didn't make a scene. He quietly passed the spreadsheet to Michael.

Michael read it through and said nothing except one question. "Who approved this?"

The procurement supervisor quietly replied with a name.

Michael locked the spreadsheet away in his drawer.

That same day, I got a package delivered to my apartment.

Inside was a stack of photocopies with no sender and no message, and a slip of paper tucked into the first page.

[You should've seen these before I did.]

I flipped through the photocopies from start to finish, taking about ten minutes.

Then I picked up my phone and called Rachel.

"Rachel, add one more thing to the list. That distributor rebate at Dalton Pharmaceuticals last August. I want the approval chain it went through and the name of the person who signed off."

On the phone, Rachel asked, "Is this connected to the thing you had me start?"

"It is," I replied.

"I'll get on it today," Rachel said.

I hung up and flipped through the photocopies again, spotting a number tucked in the corner of one page.

I knew that number by heart.

That money was supposed to be a cash injection from my own account to Dalton Pharmaceuticals.

Sylvia broke it up into three payments, each under a different supplier's name, and funneled them straight into her own project.

That was when I finally understood it. When Sylvia stood behind James with her eyes red, she wasn't only playing the victim.

She was genuinely scared.

She was terrified of that brown paper bag I brought into the conference room yesterday.

Everything inside was about this whole mess.

*****

James spent the whole morning on the bank.

The people at Metro Bank were polite, and they gave away nothing.

"Mr. Dalton, we understand your position. For the credit renewal we need an additional confirmation letter, because we have to verify the authorization status of one of the signatories."

James tried to keep his cool. "Whose authorization?"

The caller just gave him a number, didn't mention any name.

Henry Cole spent five minutes checking and came back with a printout and a grim face.

"Mr. Dalton, that number belongs to Mrs. Dalton."

James sat behind his desk, silent for several seconds.

He knew a few things were held in my name. When we got married, the two families had put some paperwork in place, and he had skimmed it and treated it as a formality.

He never imagined that those "formalities" would actually end up blocking Dalton Pharmaceuticals' business.

At two o'clock, Brightwell Corp. responded.

Their answer was even blunter than the bank's. "Mr. Dalton, we aren't holding anything up. One of your core licenses has been pulled, so our compliance team can't sign off."

James asked, "Which core authorization?"

The caller paused for a couple of seconds. "That's internal to your company, so I shouldn't say more. Ask your legal team."

James hung up and told Henry to bring in Susan Lewis, Dalton Pharmaceuticals' head of legal.

When Susan arrived, she was carrying a stack of folders, and her face was calm while her brow stayed tight.

James cut straight to the chase. "What does she have to do with all these suspensions?"

Susan didn't answer right away. She set the folder on the desk, flipped to a page, and pointed to a line in the document.

"Mr. Dalton, several of Dalton Pharmaceuticals' long-term partnership agreements have run on licenses held in Ms. Wynn's name for years.

"They don't normally go through formal approval, and the moment she pulls them, every renewal, every bank endorsement, and every letter of comfort from a partner goes back into review."

"Under her name? Who made that call?" James demanded.

Susan looked at him. "That structure was set when Dalton Pharmaceuticals was founded. Nobody signed off on it. It was built that way from the beginning."

James straightened up, bracing himself on the desk.

For the first time, James felt that some things had never been what he assumed.