The forensic summary was presented. The holes were larger than even Eleanor had anticipated. Julian had not merely siphoned money. He had been preparing a strategic dilution move tied to fabricated vulnerability in the company’s financial condition. He intended to buy influence cheaply after engineering the appearance of weakness. It was audacious in the way reckless men become audacious once they believe themselves invulnerable.
At one point Thomas removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Why didn’t you stop this sooner?”
Every eye in the room moved to her.
The question was not wholly unfair. It was also exactly the sort of question women are asked when men abuse trust: Why did you let it continue long enough to become catastrophic?
Eleanor folded her hands. “Because I was married to the man everyone in this room trusted more than the woman doing most of the work.”
No one answered that.