“He found something more interesting,” Elena said, pointing to a highlighted line on a balance sheet. “Voss Holdings has been taking out massive, uncollateralized loans for the past three years.”

“From which bank?”

“Midwest Merchants Bank,” Elena said. “It’s a local institution. Not one of the majors.”

I frowned, looking at the numbers.

“How did they get approved for loans of this size without collateral?” I asked. “Their debt-to-equity ratio is disastrous.”

“That’s the question,” Elena said, her eyes gleaming with a cold light. “A bank doesn’t just hand over twenty million dollars to a failing real estate firm out of charity.”

She stood up and paced to the window, looking out at the snowy street below.

“I think someone inside that bank was helping them,” she said.

“A corrupt loan officer?” I asked.

“It’s highly likely,” Elena said. “If we can prove Patricia was paying someone off to falsify their loan applications, the IP lawsuit disappears.”

“Why?”

“Because she’ll be facing federal bank fraud charges,” Elena said. “She won’t have time to worry about your software.”

My office door opened, and my assistant, Sarah, stepped in, looking pale.