I looked directly into his eyes, searching for even the smallest flicker of guilt.
There was none.
Only cold, sociopathic sociability.
“Does he?” I asked quietly. “He seemed a little tense when you two were talking down by the water.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second—a tiny micro-expression only someone who had lived with him for six years would notice.
Then the smooth mask slipped immediately back into place.
“Oh, you know Jim,” Julian chuckled, waving a hand casually. “Always worrying about his new job. I was just giving him some financial advice. Helping him plan for his future.”
Helping him take the fall, I thought.
“That’s so generous of you, Julian,” I said, matching his smile with one of my own. “You’re always looking out for my family.”
“Always, Chloe,” he said softly, patting my shoulder before turning toward the bathroom. “I’m going to take a quick shower before dinner. We have that reservation at the steakhouse at seven.”
“Sounds perfect,” I called after him.
The moment the bathroom door closed and the shower began running, I moved with surgical speed.
I pulled out my phone, opened my encrypted cloud drive, and returned to the bed.
I pulled out the black box, opened it, and began taking high-resolution photographs of every page in the three ledgers, the fraudulent bills of lading, the offshore bank account tokens, and the stacks of cash.
I uploaded thirty-six photographs directly to an encrypted server managed by my close friend Sarah, a senior prosecutor with the Department of Justice in Illinois.
Then I typed Sarah a fast, precise message:
Sarah. Urgent. My husband is laundering offshore money using my brother’s port clearances. I have full documentary evidence. I need a federal freeze on all associated accounts before 9:00 AM tomorrow.
Within two minutes, Sarah’s response appeared on my screen:
Photos received. This is massive, Chloe. Bills of lading match an active customs investigation. I’m contacting Homeland Security Investigations right now. Do NOT confront him. Where are you?
Resort in Cabo. Flying back tomorrow afternoon, I typed back.
