The next day, Ethan was fired.
Ryan told me. His voice was shaking when he called.
"Claire, Ethan got fired!"
"What?"
"Auditors from headquarters showed up this morning. They went through every project Ethan handled and found serious violations, plus a transaction he couldn't explain. They fired him on the spot and wouldn't even let him hand over his work."
I stood in the kitchen holding my phone, stunned for several seconds.
"Who investigated him?"
"I don't know. I heard somebody reported him straight to headquarters." Ryan sounded panicked. "Claire, do you think it could have been...?"
He didn't finish, but I knew what he meant.
That evening, I asked Nathan.
He was watering the sweet olive tree in the yard. He paused when he heard my question, then went back to watering.
"Nath
