I lean forward.
“No, Nathan. Everything people respected about you was polished by me.”
His face changes.
The meeting ends badly.
Nathan refuses to admit the forgery. His attorney asks for time. Vivian gives forty-eight hours, not out of generosity, but because the bank has already scheduled its own internal review.
Time no longer belongs to Nathan.
Outside the office, he catches me near the elevator. Vivian is only steps behind, but Nathan speaks low enough for only me to hear.
“You have no idea how ugly I can make this.”
I press the elevator button.
“Yes,” I say. “I do. That’s why I prepared.”
The doors open.
I step inside.
He does not follow.
Three days later, Serena disappears.
No dramatic farewell.
No airport photo.
No public statement.
She simply stops answering calls, leaves her luxury apartment half-packed, and misses an emergency investor meeting. By noon, everyone knows she ran. By evening, everyone knows she did not run empty-handed.
Millions are missing from Silver Coast’s reserve account.
Nathan calls me thirteen times.
I do not answer.
Then he calls Vivian.
“She set me up,” he says, voice cracking.
Vivian’s reply is ice.
“She may have. That does not explain your forged documents.”