Beside him sat a woman with sharp features and a thick manila folder in front of her.

“This is Sarah Lin, our general counsel,” Arthur said, not offering to shake hands.

He looked exhausted, his eyes bloodshot behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

“Show me,” Arthur said.

I sat down, pulled the laptop from my bag, and opened it on the polished mahogany table.

I entered the password I had copied from Lucas’s desk.

The screen flickered, displaying the locked escrow folder and the underlying banking routing numbers.

Sarah Lin leaned forward, her eyes scanning the columns of figures.

“He used Melanie’s security key to authorize these transfers,” Sarah said, her voice flat and professional.

“I was on medical leave when those dates were stamped,” Melanie said, her voice rising slightly. “I have the hospital records to prove it.”

“We believe you, Melanie,” Arthur said gently. “But right now, the money is still in our joint holding account with the Denver National Bank.”

“How much?” I asked.

“Seven hundred and twenty thousand dollars,” Arthur said. “It’s the remaining deposit from the Sterling project.”