Chapter 2 – The Empire of Lies
Three days later, every television network carried the same headline.
ASHFORD GROUP UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION.
The world believed Nathan's empire had been built by genius.
It had actually been built on stolen pensions, fraudulent charities, shell corporations, and blackmail.
But that wasn't the worst discovery.
During the investigation, forensic accountants uncovered an account that neither Nathan nor his executives could explain.
It contained nearly two hundred million dollars.
The account owner was listed only as...
Project Iris.
The investigators assumed Nathan owned it.
He didn't.
I recognized the name immediately.
My mother had whispered it before she died.
"One day... find Iris."
My father had never spoken of it again.
When I asked him that evening, he became unusually quiet.
"I hoped that account no longer existed."
"You know what it is?"
He nodded.
"It was created twenty-eight years ago."
"For your protection."
I stared at him.
"My protection from whom?"
May you like
He looked away.
"From someone much worse than Nathan."
