“If you don’t resign,” I added, “I will hand the internal audit papers I compiled this morning to the SEC.”

“They already have the ledger,” Arthur said, his face turning red.

“The ledger was just the start,” I said. “The audit shows who signed the authorization forms. Your signatures are all over them, Arthur.”

One by one, the board members looked down at the table.

Arthur sank back into his chair, his hands shaking as he adjusted his glasses.

“We have families, Claire,” he whispered.

“So do the people your construction projects displaced,” I said. “So do the workers who were underpaid while you took bonuses.”

“You have until noon,” I said, standing up.

I walked out of the boardroom and went to Ethan’s old office.

The room was vast, with panoramic windows overlooking the river.

His desk was covered in dust, the leather chairs cold and empty.

I sat down behind the desk, looking at the city below.

It was time to clean up the mess he had made.

A week later, I stood in the hearing room of the State Medical Board.