My parents.
I stared at the financial records.
The investigation was no longer simply about my sister’s potential fraud.
It now involved the financial foundation of my entire family.
And Halden’s board expected the final investigative report by midnight.
I knew immediately what professional ethics required.
The moment my sister and parents appeared in the evidence, I could no longer remain personally responsible for the investigation’s final judgments.
My hands trembled as I locked my office door and lowered the blinds.
For the next four hours, I prepared a comprehensive conflict-of-interest disclosure.
I documented my relationship to Vanessa and the trust’s beneficiaries.
I explained exactly when the identities had become known to me.
Then I digitally signed the disclosure, applied my forensic watermark, and formally transferred responsibility for the final investigative conclusions to Halden’s outside legal counsel, Harrison & Vance.
I instructed my team to continue authorized automated data collection while establishing a strict digital separation between myself and the final determinations.
