Page 59 of Reconciling the Consequences

Derrick was propped up on the couch in the great room. He was watching a movie and scrolling through his phone when he wasn’t napping. He’d refused to stay in bed despite her arguing with him. She had given up when he said he’d wanted to be close to her while she was working. She would be able to keep an eye on him at least. Kara found herself grateful for his stubbornness throughout the morning. Whenever she found her anxiety kicking in over the thought of almost losing him, she was able to look over and see him in the flesh instead of worrying how he was doing upstairs.

Danvers was on his best behavior, too, while Derrick was present. Not that Kara ever really worried about Danvers, but he tended to be overtly condescending at times when it was just Kara and him. He was a bit of a celebrity defense attorney in Mourningside, and though Kara was a kickass corporate attorney in her own right, only criminal defense lawyers seemed to matter to Danvers.

She had rolled her eyes and told him she’d studied the same law books he had. He eventually got over himself when they were speaking, but with Derrick on the couch, Danvers hadn’t even bothered with his usual posturing. It was a relief.

Marlie and Stacy were godsends when it came to research. They already knew her system, knew the company’s filing system, and were able to quickly teach Gina and Danvers.

They had made quick work of a year’s worth of boxes. It wasn’t until they reached the end of the first year that they found anything of value. “Got something,” Marlie said.

Kara looked up from her files to see a smile on Marlie’s face. “What’s that?”

“Case Holdings state filing papers, for the incorporation,” Marlie elaborated, flipping through the file in her hands. “Incorporation papers, the business license, the SS-4 form from the IRS. All of it.”

Kara’s heart leaped into her throat. She rounded the table at the same time as Danvers, and together, they pored over the documents. Sure enough, her father’s name was all over the papers right next to Mac’s.

“Holy shit.” She gasped, reading the filing dates. “This is it!” She looked up at Danvers, who didn’t share her same enthusiasm.

“It’s a good start.” He nodded. “Which box did you find those in?”

Things moved quickly from there, the four of them abandoning the files they had in their hands to help pore over the other files in Marlie’s box. They found a gold mine of information: the banking forms signed by both parties, the original business plan with handwritten notes from both of them, and the W-9. She immediately recognized her father’s neat handwriting. She assumed the other handwriting was Mac’s.

“This is everything I need,” Danvers murmured, looking through the file.

“You can build a case around this?” Kara questioned, knowing she herself probably could.

“Absolutely. Let’s keep digging; there’s bound to be more,” he muttered, staring down at the papers.

They quickly got back to work, diving into the next box.

Hours later, they assembled a full box of documents that clearly detailed Vince Carmichael and Mac Taylor’s going into business together. They found documents dated a year later with only Vince’s signature. There was a clear paper trail that showed Case Holdings being placed in a trust.

An hour later, they had it.

They had everything they needed and then some.

They found all the registration papers for Case Holdings with her father’s and Mac’s signatures. They had the documents on Candy Creek Inc., a company that was solely in her father’s name, proving her father was paying himself via Case Holdings and charging Carmichael and Associates’ clients for research.

From there, the money was moved to Candle-Carla Trust and then on to Carlita Associates, where Vince Carmichael and Ken Laraway were listed as owners of the law firm in the Caymans. Her father was using her mother’s name to run all of his dirty dealings.

Stephanie had found thousands of instances where her father and several other senior partners had billed Case Holdings for research. Carmichael and Associates had paid out millions.

The actual sum was astronomical.

“This is everything we’ve needed,” Kara said, finally sitting down for a minute to take a break and let the reality wash over her.

“This is fucking illegal.” Marlie grumbled as she pored over documents, still finding more incriminating evidence.

“We have our case.” Danvers nodded at Kara.

Kara gave him a rare smile; he’d been oddly fun to work with. Despite his cocky attitude, he was a great research partner and dug in deep. Gina was just as great. Too good for him, for sure.

Marlie and Stacy made Kara feel like she’d never left the office. “You’re both getting raises when I get back,” Kara told them.

“Who says I wanna work for you again?” Stacy shot back immediately.

Kara grinned. “You won’t have a choice.”

Stacy rolled her eyes and continued working.

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