Chapter 1 - THE NUMBER THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST
“Where did you get your supplemental hull bond?”
Derek Langford stared at me.
“What?”
I pointed toward the document protruding from his portfolio.
“The bond. Who issued it?”
His expression hardened.
“Why?”
“Because that registration number shouldn't exist.”
Kendra laughed.
“Oh, God. Here we go.”
I ignored her.
Derek pulled the document farther into the folder.
“Mallory, this is a private business matter.”
“I understand.”
“Then stop embarrassing yourself.”
I looked at him.
“I'm trying to stop you from making a fifty-million-dollar mistake.”
He laughed.
Loudly.
Several guests turned.
“Did everyone hear that?”
He raised his bourbon.
“My ex-fiancée thinks she's going to save my company.”
Kendra giggled.
I looked at the portfolio.
NBR-4419-C.
I knew that number.
Not because I'd seen it recently.
Because I'd spent eleven months investigating the original certificate.
Three years earlier, a cargo vessel named Northstar Belle had suffered catastrophic flooding near the Canadian border.
Its owners filed a multimillion-dollar insurance claim.
The investigation revealed falsified maintenance records and suspicious alterations to the ship's stability calculations.
The original hull coverage certificate had been revoked.
And the registration sequence had been permanently flagged.
NBR-4419-C.
Now Derek was using it as supporting documentation for a major freight contract.
I looked at him.
“Derek, that certificate is invalid.”
His smile vanished.
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“Then show me the issuing underwriter.”
He stepped closer.
“Stay out of my business.”
I held his gaze.
“Your business is about to become everyone else's problem.”
Then a deep voice spoke behind me.
“Is that so?”
The ballroom fell silent.
I turned.
May you like
Dominic Rourke stood beneath the enormous oak doors.
And he was looking directly at me.
