Ethan had joined the business shortly after college. He was intelligent, ambitious, and exceptionally good at making people feel that trusting him was their own idea.

Claire’s father treated him like a son. Claire did more than that — she planned to marry him.

Seven years ago, Ethan had been put in charge of a redevelopment fund worth several million dollars, meant to restore three historic buildings outside Chicago.

Instead, portions of it began disappearing through consulting fees, false invoices, and companies that existed only on paper. Claire found the first irregularity two weeks before her wedding.

When she confronted Ethan, he blamed a bookkeeper. When she asked for the original records, the storage room holding the company’s archived files caught fire.

No one was hurt. The records were declared destroyed.