Chapter 9
The recent entries looked convincing.
Same paper style.
Same formatting.
Same family seal.
Same handwritten notation patterns used in historical ledgers.
But the dates were modern.
They appeared to show payments routed through one of Maximilian’s legitimate hospitality companies to individuals associated with old Rourke contacts.
If authentic, they created a serious problem.
They suggested conduct was not merely historical.
It was ongoing.
Maximilian looked at Claire.
“Did my company make those payments?”
“Forensic accounting is checking.”
“Would I know?”
“You should.”
He stared at her.
“That is not comforting.”
“It isn’t supposed to be.”
The company’s actual bank records showed no matching payments.
That was good.
Not enough.
Documents could reflect cash or off-book activity.
The paper itself needed testing.
Outside counsel obtained high-resolution scans from a data room Felix had prepared for Seraphina.
The recent pages contained subtle differences.
Printer artifacts.
Ink density.
Metadata from digital photographs.
Nothing conclusive by itself.
Then Daniel found a recorder segment from beneath the stairs.
Seraphina speaking to Felix.
“He’ll recognize the old ones.”
Felix:
“That’s why they need to sit together.”
Seraphina:
“And the new pages?”
Felix:
“They only have to survive long enough to make counsel panic.”
The room went silent.
Claire replayed it.
Still, she refused to declare victory.
“We need physical or digital proof that the pages were manufactured.”
Maximilian nodded.
The recorder established intent to use “new pages.”
Not who created them.
Not what they contained.
Then forensic counsel traced a specialty stationery order.
Seraphina had purchased archival-style paper from a restoration supplier two months earlier.
She claimed it was for wedding invitations.
The paper type matched the new ledger pages more closely than the original family paper did.
Another clue.
Felix’s office had paid a document-restoration freelancer shortly afterward.
Description:
Historical facsimile preparation.
Another clue.
But the physical originals remained missing.
Until security reviewed off-site courier records.
The package Seraphina sent to Felix contained a rigid archival envelope matching the dimensions of the red folder.
A court order required preservation.
Felix’s lawyer suddenly became much more interested in negotiating access.
Claire looked at Maximilian.
“Part 10 is going to be unpleasant.”
He almost smiled.
“For whom?”
May you like
“All of you.”
She was usually right.
