Karen Mercer learned two things on her first morning as Director of Special Compliance Investigations. First: Titanor Group loved the word integrity far more than it loved practicing it. Second: someone inside the company was already testing how much damage she could do. The forty-second floor gleamed like a luxury showroom. Polished stone, frosted glass, muted lighting calibrated to make executives feel calm and invincible. Karen walked through it with a straight spine and an unreadable face, heels striking the floor with deliberate rhythm. She wasn’t impressed. She was alert. Her office door slid shut behind her with a soft click, sealing her inside a space that had been empty for six months. Compliance had been “restructured” after the last director resigned abruptly and moved to Switzerland. No forwarding address. No farewell email. Karen placed her bag down and activated the wall display. Her inbox detonated into view. Three hundred twelve unread emails. Amanda Hayes was already seated at the round table, surrounded by printed statements, color-coded tabs, and a laptop running at least four spreadsheets at once. She didn’t look up. “Coffee’s on the left,” Amanda said. “Strong. No sugar. I assumed.” Karen smiled faintly. “You assumed correctly.” She poured herself a cup and skimmed the subject lines flashing past. Vendor disputes. Expense clarifications. Budget reallocations. And then— RE: Q3 Global Strategy Conference – Final Adjustment Karen tapped it open. The budget summary loaded cleanly. Too clean. She scanned once. Then again, slower. “Where’s