I did not reach into my clutch for papers.

I did not need papers; every document was already with our outside counsel, exactly where it belonged.

I simply said the number.

“Three million, eight hundred thousand dollars,” I said quietly, “transferred over eighteen months, through consulting companies with no employees.” I will not detail the mechanics of how it was structured, because a blueprint for laundering stolen company funds is not a thing that belongs on a page; it is enough to say that our investigators had followed every dollar, and documented every step, and that the trail was complete.

And beside Marcus, Chloe went very still, and released his arm, and took a small step away from him, the involuntary step of a person putting distance between herself and something about to explode.