Page 51 of Billionaire Corruption

“How come they know Sholnakov?”

“I think they knew each other from the old neighborhood, you know? The McKinneys used to have some, well, I suppose you could say… shady business. You know, your grandfather, his father, much of their business was… questionable. Your father went in a different direction, did things right.”

“But he kept the old contacts,” I said.

“It’s not like that, son,” my father said, behind me. He’d come in without me hearing.

“Brock told me he’d spoken to you.”

My father seemed older, tired. He sat down in his chair and my mom snuck out of the study, closing the door. “You weren’t supposed to know about any of this.”

“Any of what?”

The whole sordid mess came out then. My dad came clean and told me how he’d been in financial difficulties a few years ago, and with Brock, he found a way to make money off Ladden contracts in South America. Jerome hid it in the accounts. When Ladden needed a new CEO, Brock suggested me because he thought I was competent and that by keeping it in the family, we would all be protected. “And Sholnakov?”

“Boy is a decent sort, nothing bad. We used some of his security business, as you know.”

My heart sank. “Dad, was Ladden cleaning Russian money for the mob?”

My dad’s face was grey, sagging.

“I don’t know. Maybe. Probably. Jerome was handling all of that. I think Brock is dealing with it. All of it has gotten out of hand.”

I needed to talk to Grace. I was worried about her.

I left the house, called her number, but there was no answer. I took a car to her place, I had to get hold of her.

Chapter 21

Grace

The firm’s senior partner, Mr. Henderson, called me in the afternoon.

“Grace, where are you?”

He’d been trying to get hold of me in the morning, when we were still on the plane back from Maine.

I had told them I’d be working from home that day, to avoid calling in sick again. We were all supposed to be checking invoices anyway and this could be done from home.

“Sorry, my phone was on silent, I was about to call you back.”

“Some files have gone missing.”

“What?”

He told me the documents I had sent over concerning Ladden’s chief financial officer had disappeared.

“Can you come see me at the office? Or better yet, meet me at O’Dell’s at the corner. You know it?”

Of course, I knew the diner near our work. I had eaten lunch there many times.

“Sure, I can be there at three?”

“Let’s make it four,” he said and hung up. I noticed that my battery was low and about to die. I had forgotten to charge it the night before.

I got changed for work.

“Everything all right?” my grandmother asked me, picking up on my change of mood. I had been in high spirits upon my return from the weekend, but not anymore.

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