Nathan asked why the program had chosen certain drop-off points rather than the shortest possible route.
Felicia described accessible entrances, traffic patterns, and the fact that some clients needed extra time.
Nathan wrote the details down.
He had never considered that a technically efficient route could be unfair to people who could not walk quickly.
The club incorporated accessibility into its next assignment.
Claire watched him present the revised model and saw an independence she had hoped he would find.
He no longer introduced himself only as the younger brother she worked to support.
He was becoming a person with responsibilities and choices of his own.
That change frightened Claire a little, but it was the kind of fear she wanted to learn to welcome.
CHAPTER 27: The Missing Purchase Orders
The auditors discovered that several Meridian invoices referred to purchase orders missing from the restaurant’s central accounting system.
Maya instructed her staff to search archived backups rather than relying on documents supplied by the vendor.
A junior analyst named Daniel Cho found a folder of older approvals stored under a discontinued software account.
The records showed that some payments had been entered manually after normal closing dates.
They also identified two employees who had been granted authority to approve exceptions.
One had resigned years earlier, and the other continued working in the accounting office.
The auditors interviewed both with their attorneys present.
The former employee explained that Preston sometimes demanded urgent payments for special events, claiming Charles had approved them verbally.
She could not verify those claims and admitted that she had processed several requests without written documentation.
The current employee said management had treated Meridian’s invoices as routine because the vendor carried the trust’s name on its paperwork.
Neither account resolved who had prepared the false delivery descriptions.
Margaret reminded Samuel that an explanation of weak controls was not the same as evidence of deliberate theft.
Samuel agreed, though he struggled with the delay.
He wanted someone to admit exactly what had happened and return every dollar.
Maya told him that a credible recovery effort required tracing the funds through records rather than relying on confession.
The audit team requested statements for the relevant vendor accounts through formal channels.
While those requests proceeded, the restaurant operator suspended discretionary payments to Meridian.
A temporary supplier arrangement ensured that the community kitchen could continue serving meals.
Nora worried about staff losing hours during the transition.
The independent operator reviewed scheduling and committed to maintaining existing shifts wherever practical.
