Daniel's expression changed.
"He introduced me to my first major investors. He helped me understand how to build a company that could serve communities instead of simply extracting money from them."
Richard leaned forward.
"Without Arthur Bennett, there would be no Whitmore Development Group as you know it today."
Daniel looked at Arthur.
For the first time, he seemed genuinely frightened.
But Richard was not finished.
"And you chose to humiliate him in public?"
Daniel attempted to respond.
"Sir, I didn't knowโ"
Richard interrupted.
"That is precisely the problem. You believed you could treat him however you wanted because you thought he was powerless."
Arthur looked at Richard.
"Let's not turn this into a personal matter."
Richard shook his head.
"It stopped being personal when he used this company to intimidate you."
He turned toward Michael.
"Show me the documents."
Michael opened the folder.
And what Richard saw next would change the future of his company.
Richard examined the financial records carefully.
At first, he believed the problem might involve accounting errors or incomplete reporting.
But the more he read, the more disturbing the situation became.
Several payments had been transferred to companies that appeared to have no meaningful business operations.
Some invoices had identical descriptions despite representing completely different services.
Other transactions had been approved without the required authorization.
Richard looked up.
"Who prepared these reports?"
Michael answered.
"Daniel's department."
"Who approved the transfers?"
"Daniel approved most of them. A few were authorized through his assistant."
Richard turned another page.
"And the board?"
"They received incomplete summaries."
Richard's jaw tightened.
"How long has this been happening?"
Michael hesitated.
"At least eighteen months."
Richard slowly placed the papers on the table.
Eighteen months.
For eighteen months, someone had been using the company's reputation to conceal financial misconduct.
He looked at Daniel.
"Do you have anything to say?"
Daniel tried to maintain his composure.
"These documents are misleading. We have several external partners, and the money was allocated according to the development schedule."
Michael shook his head.
"Those companies don't have legitimate operating records."
"That is not your responsibility."
"It became my responsibility when I was asked to investigate the Riverside project."
Daniel turned toward Richard.
"Sir, I believe Mr. Carter has misunderstood the internal structure of our department."
Richard did not respond.
Instead, he called the company's chief financial officer.
"Linda, I need you at the restaurant immediately. Bring the original Riverside financial records and the last six quarterly audit reports."
He ended the call.
Then he looked at Arthur.
"I am sorry."
Arthur shook his head.
"You don't owe me an apology for someone else's actions."
"I do when those actions happen under my leadership."
Arthur studied his old friend.
"Then make sure they never happen again."
Richard nodded.
For a few moments, nobody spoke.
Then Daniel's phone began vibrating.
He looked at the screen and stepped away from the table.
"Excuse me."
Michael watched him carefully.
Daniel answered the call in a low voice.
"What?"
A woman's voice could be heard faintly from the other end.
Daniel's expression changed.
"I told you not to contact me here."
He listened.
"No. The documents are under control."
Another pause.
"Stop panicking. I'll handle it."
He ended the call.
Michael exchanged a glance with Arthur.
Something was wrong.
Before anyone could ask, Richard's chief financial officer arrived.
Linda Harris was a woman in her late forties who had worked for Whitmore Development Group for almost fifteen years.
She placed a thick folder on the table.
"Mr. Whitmore, I brought everything you requested."
Richard opened the folder.
"Linda, I need an honest answer. Were the Riverside accounts independently reviewed?"
Linda hesitated.
"Yes. But there were limitations."
"What limitations?"
"Several supporting documents were unavailable during the review."
Richard frowned.
"Why wasn't I informed?"
"I sent two internal reports to Daniel's office."
Daniel immediately stepped forward.
"Those reports were incomplete."
Linda looked directly at him.
"They were not incomplete. They were returned without being forwarded to the board."
The atmosphere changed.
Richard slowly turned toward Daniel.
"Is that true?"
Daniel said nothing.
Linda continued.
"I also discovered that the consulting company receiving the largest payments is registered under the name of a relative of one of the project directors."
Michael opened another document.
"That company is connected to three other entities."
Linda nodded.
"Exactly."
Richard looked at Daniel.
"Explain."
Daniel took a deep breath.
"These are complicated commercial arrangements. You cannot understand them simply by looking at individual transactions."
Richard's voice became colder.
"Then explain them to me."
Daniel glanced around the restaurant.
"Not here."
Richard stood.
"Fine. We will continue this at headquarters. Until then, you are suspended from all project-related authority."
Daniel's face turned red.