He pulled a second folder from his leather briefcase and laid it on the table next to the ringing phone.

“A contract that was only approved because of Colonel Monroe’s security clearance,” Vance said, gesturing to me.

“I never signed those authorization forms,” I said.

“We know,” Vance said. “The signature on the Department of Defense routing slip was a digital forgery.”

He looked directly at Grant.

“Your personal digital signature, Grant, was the one that uploaded the authorization from the Monroe Group’s secure terminal in downtown Atlanta,” Vance said.

Grant took a step back, his heel hitting the edge of the heavy rug.

“It was a mistake,” Grant whispered. “A clerical error.”

“Twenty-two million dollars is not a clerical error,” Vance said.

“The money was routed directly from the Pentagon’s transport account to the escrow agent for this very property,” I said.

I watched the color drain completely from Grant’s face.

He looked like a man watching the floor collapse beneath his feet.

“You bought this estate with stolen military funds,” Vance said.

“This house belongs to the United States Government,” he added.