Then Henry said:
“If you help me understand the documents, I will compensate you.”
“No.”
“I haven't named the amount.”
“I don't need your money.”
“Then consider it a professional favor.”
Naomi looked at him.
“Why trust me?”
Henry smiled.
“I don't.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I trust the fact that you had nothing to gain when you corrected Victor's Mandarin assumption.”
Naomi laughed softly.
“That might be the strangest compliment I've ever received.”
Henry stood.
“Think about it.”
He left the folder.
Naomi watched him walk away.
She knew she should leave it alone.
Instead, she opened the first page.
The Numbers
For the next week, Naomi lived two lives.
During the day, she worked at the restaurant.
At night, she analyzed Harbor Point.
She found irregularities everywhere.
Construction estimates had been duplicated.
Several consulting fees were far above market rates.
A land-acquisition subsidiary had transferred millions to another company with nearly identical ownership.
And then she found the most disturbing entry.
A $14.8 million “community relations expense.”
Naomi stared at the number.
There was no explanation.
No detailed invoice.
No vendor breakdown.
Only a company name.
Civic Horizon Strategies.
She searched it.
The company had existed for eight months.
Its office was a rented mailbox.
Its listed director was a retired accountant.
Naomi leaned back.
Something was wrong.
She dug deeper.
Then she found another payment.
$2.6 million.
Same company.
Different subsidiary.
Different invoice.
Same week.
Naomi photographed the screen.
The next morning she showed Henry.
He read the documents carefully.
“Can you prove the money went where it shouldn't?”
“Not yet.”
“Can you prove the invoices are suspicious?”
“Yes.”
Henry looked at her.
“How?”
Naomi pointed.
“The invoices are sequential.”
Henry frowned.
“So?”
“They're supposedly from different departments and different dates. But the invoice numbering follows one continuous sequence.”
Henry stared.
“So one person created them.”
“Or one system.”
He nodded.
“And if someone created fake invoices?”
“They could have moved money without showing it as a direct transfer.”
Henry was silent.
Naomi continued.
“There is more.”
She opened another file.
“The land parcels.”
“What about them?”
“They're being acquired through shell companies.”
Henry leaned forward.
“Why?”
“To make it look like independent sellers.”
Henry's expression hardened.
“How much?”
Naomi gave him the number.
Henry sat back.
“That is enough to change the financing structure.”
“Exactly.”
Henry looked at her.
“Naomi, this isn't a simple accounting problem.”
“I know.”
“This could collapse the entire project.”
“I know.”
“And if Victor discovers what you're doing?”
Naomi closed the laptop.
“Then he discovers it.”
Henry stared at her.
“You're not afraid?”
Naomi smiled faintly.
“I am.”
“Then why continue?”
She looked toward the window.
“Because six years ago, I left this world because I was tired of people who believed money made them smarter.”
She paused.
“But I never forgot how to read numbers.”
Victor Strikes Back
Victor discovered the investigation on a Thursday.
He didn't confront Naomi immediately.
Instead, he called Daniel.
“She is causing problems.”
Daniel frowned.
“Naomi?”
“Yes.”
“She hasn't done anything.”
Victor placed a document on the desk.
“She accessed information she shouldn't have.”
Daniel stared at the page.
“How?”
“That's irrelevant.”
Daniel looked up.
“She's an employee.”
“She was an employee.”
Daniel went pale.
“You're firing her?”
“I want her gone.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You can't fire someone because you don't like her.”
Victor leaned forward.
“Watch me.”
That evening, Naomi finished her shift.
Daniel approached her.
“I need to talk to you.”
She already knew.
“What happened?”
“Victor complained.”
“About?”
Daniel hesitated.
“He says you accessed confidential information.”
“I did.”
Daniel looked surprised.
“You admit it?”
“I didn't access anything illegally.”
“That isn't what he said.”
Naomi sighed.
“Daniel, if you want to fire me, do it.”
“I don't.”
“Then what?”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“He threatened to pull his business from the restaurant.”
Naomi looked toward Table Twelve.
Victor was there.
Alone.
Watching her.
She walked over.
“What do you want?”
Victor smiled.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot.”
Naomi didn't answer.
“You are obviously intelligent.”
“Thank you.”
“But intelligence can become dangerous when people don't understand boundaries.”
Naomi stared at him.
“You mean your boundaries.”
Victor smiled.
“My project employs thousands of people.”
“Eventually.”
“It will transform the waterfront.”
“Maybe.”
“You are interfering with something much larger than yourself.”
Naomi folded her arms.
“You told me to get out.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“And now?”
“I'm still here.”
Victor leaned closer.
“You have no idea who you're dealing with.”
Naomi met his eyes.
“Neither did you.”
For the first time, Victor looked genuinely unsettled.
The Woman at Table Twelve
The next evening, Henry returned.
This time he brought six people.
Investors.
Lawyers.
Engineers.
And one woman Naomi recognized immediately.
Margaret Zhou.
A financial compliance specialist.
Henry waited until Naomi finished serving the first course.
Then he said:
“Would you join us for a moment?”
Victor wasn't there.
Naomi hesitated.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
She sat.
Margaret opened a folder.
“We reviewed the documents you gave Henry.”
Naomi nodded.
“What did you find?”