Chapter 7 - The Audit
Marcus called me at 6 a.m. three days later.
"Emily. We have a problem."
I sat up in bed. "What kind of problem?"
"The IRS is auditing Hawthorne Development."
I swung my legs over the side of the bed. "That's not a problem. That's an opportunity."
"No, you don't understand. The audit was triggered by a whistleblower complaint. Someone inside the company has been feeding information to the feds for months."
I stood up. "Who?"
"That's the problem. I don't know yet. But whoever it is, they're about to blow the whole thing open. And if the feds get to Daniel before we do—"
"We lose our leverage." I walked to the kitchen, my mind racing. "Can you find out who the whistleblower is?"
"I'm working on it. But there's something else."
"What?"
"The audit is scheduled to begin next week. That means we have seven days to gather everything we need before the feds seize all the documents."
I grabbed my laptop. "Then we need to move fast. Send me everything you have on the audit. And Marcus—"
"Yeah?"
"Find out who the whistleblower is. Even if you have to call in every favor you have."
"I'm on it."
I spent the next six hours reviewing the documents Marcus sent. The audit notice. The subpoena for financial records. The list of properties under scrutiny.
And then, buried in a footnote on page 47, I found a name.
Complainant: Rachel Torres.
I knew that name. Daniel had mentioned it once, early in our relationship. "My ex," he'd said. "She was unstable. Accused me of things that weren't true."
I pulled up Rachel's public records. She was a forensic accountant. She had worked for Hawthorne Development five years ago. And she had filed a whistleblower complaint with the IRS six months before my wedding.
I found her phone number in a LinkedIn profile.
She answered on the third ring.
"Rachel Torres?"
"Who is this?"
"My name is Emily Hawthorne. I'm Daniel's wife."
Silence.
"I need to talk to you," I said. "About Daniel. About the family. About what you know."
Another pause. "Why should I trust you?"
"Because I'm not like them." I took a breath. "And because I'm trying to stop them."
A long moment passed. Then: "There's a coffee shop on Fifth Street. Two o'clock tomorrow. Come alone."
"I'll be there."
May you like
She hung up. I set the phone down and looked at my wedding ring.
It was time to meet the woman who had tried to destroy my husband.
