Chapter 6 - The Hospital Confrontation
Mark arrived shortly after three in the afternoon.
He carried no flowers.
No gift.
No blanket for his daughter.
Vanessa carried only her handbag and her victorious smile.
Mark stood near the doorway as if entering a business meeting.
“I’ve moved on,” he said.
Vanessa displayed the ring.
“Looks like you lost.”
Anna studied them both.
Mark had chosen the ring with money stolen from a medical defense contract. Vanessa wore it proudly in a military hospital while standing beside the woman whose trust had saved the company that purchased it.
The door opened.
General Hayes entered with Major Brooks.
His salute changed the room.
Mark’s confidence collapsed in stages.
First came confusion when the general addressed Anna as colonel.
Then disbelief when he heard that her command had been approved.
Finally, fear when Major Brooks identified herself as Anna’s executive officer.
“You told me you handled administrative logistics,” Mark said.
“I told you my work was classified.”
“You never said you were being given a command.”
“You never allowed me to finish a sentence about my career.”
The two military attorneys entered next, followed by investigator Daniel Reed from the consortium’s financial compliance office.
Reed opened the black case and removed several documents.
“Mr. Whitmore, your authority over Whitmore Strategic Solutions has been suspended pending investigation.”
Mark stared at him.
“You can’t do that. It’s my company.”
“Your company accepted a ten-million-dollar protected investment six years ago,” Reed explained. “That investment included a controlling recovery clause in cases of fraud, contract diversion or unauthorized transfer of restricted assets.”
Mark looked at Anna.
“You knew the investor?”
Anna shook her head.
“I was the investor.”
Vanessa stepped away from Mark.
Reed placed another document on the table.
“The twelve million dollars transferred to Hale Global Consulting has been frozen. The attempted eight-million-dollar transfer was intercepted this morning.”
Mark’s face became pale.
Anna held Hope closer.
“Twelve million taken,” she said. “Eight million promised. Twenty million dollars placed at risk.”
May you like
“You planned this,” Mark whispered.
“No,” Anna replied. “You did.”
