Chapter 3 - The Audit Daniel BuriedThey did not discuss it at school.
Daniel refused.
“Home.”
Laura stared at him.
“No. You don’t get to say one sentence like that and then tell us to wait.”
“Laura.”
“What audit?”
Daniel glanced toward Cameron.
“That is exactly why I’m not explaining this in a hallway.”
Officer Ruiz approached.
“The school is placing Mrs. Donovan on administrative leave for the rest of today while the superintendent reviews the incident.”
“Today?” Laura said.
Ruiz chose her words carefully.
“That is the immediate action I’m aware of.”
Cameron looked through the office window.
Mrs. Donovan was gathering her purse.
Brayden followed behind her.
He no longer looked smug.
He looked terrified.
Their eyes met.
Brayden mouthed something.
Cameron couldn’t hear.
But he understood the shape.
You don’t know.
At home, Daniel locked the front door.
Then unlocked it again.
Laura watched him.
“You’re nervous.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Cameron sat at the kitchen table with an ice pack against his cheek.
Daniel removed his work jacket.
Mercer Technical Services was a small company he co-owned with his younger brother, Aaron.
They repaired school computers, classroom projectors and security systems across three counties.
Two years earlier, Westbridge School District had asked Mercer Technical to inspect hundreds of refurbished tablets purchased through a technology grant.
“The supplier was Donovan Digital Solutions,” Daniel said.
Cameron lowered the ice pack.
“Donovan?”
Laura stared at him.
“Related?”
“Mrs. Donovan’s husband, Eric.”
Daniel opened an old laptop.
“The district bought eight hundred refurbished tablets.”
“How much?”
“About five hundred and sixty thousand dollars.”
Laura whistled softly.
“For used tablets?”
“They were supposed to be enterprise-refurbished, upgraded, warrantied.”
“Were they?”
Daniel’s silence answered.
He pulled up a spreadsheet.
“Our inspection found one hundred and forty-seven units had cheaper replacement batteries than the contract specified.”
Laura frowned.
“That sounds like fraud.”
“Potentially.”
“Potentially?”
“I didn’t have purchasing records. I could only report hardware condition.”
Daniel scrolled.
“Then Aaron found serial-number mismatches.”
Cameron knew Uncle Aaron.
Funny.
Generous.
Always gave him too much money on birthdays.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Some machines invoiced as higher-value models appeared to be cheaper units with replacement shells.”
Laura’s expression became colder.
“And you reported it?”
Daniel looked down.
“At first.”
“At first?”
“We sent a preliminary discrepancy notice to Nolan Vance.”
Cameron sat upright.
“The assistant principal?”
“He wasn’t assistant principal then. He worked in district procurement.”
Laura stepped back.
“Oh my God.”
Daniel continued.
“Vance said the differences were documentation issues.”
“And you believed him?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“He asked us to re-inspect using updated supplier records.”
“From Eric Donovan?”
“Yes.”
“Daniel.”
“The second documents matched better.”
Laura’s eyes narrowed.
“That isn’t an answer.”
Daniel looked toward Cameron.
This was the moment.
The family’s image of Uncle Aaron was about to change.
“Aaron wanted the contract renewed.”
Laura went still.
“Our business was struggling.”
“So?”
“Westbridge was nearly thirty percent of our revenue.”
“So your brother wanted you to shut up.”
“Yes.”
“And you did?”
Daniel swallowed.
“I signed a final report saying the district’s documentation resolved most discrepancies.”
Laura stared at him.
“Did it?”
“Not all of them.”
“Daniel.”
“No.”
The word settled over the table.
Cameron felt something twist inside his stomach.
“You lied?”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“I wrote a report that was technically defensible.”
“That means yes.”
Laura looked at Cameron.
“Let him answer.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“I left concerns out that should have stayed in.”
Cameron put the ice pack down.
“Why?”
“Because if we lost the district contract, Mercer Technical might have gone under.”
“And Uncle Aaron?”
“He said Eric Donovan would move the work to another inspection company unless we closed the issue.”
Laura looked sick.
“So Mrs. Donovan’s husband paid your company?”
“The district paid us.”
“But Eric Donovan controlled whether you remained useful.”
“Indirectly.”
Cameron stood.
“My teacher hit me today because I recorded her son cheating.”
“We don’t know that was why.”
“She deleted my video.”
“We don’t know she did.”
“Her son had my phone.”
“I know.”
“And you already knew their family did suspicious stuff.”
Daniel’s shoulders dropped.
“Yes.”
“Did you know Mrs. Donovan?”
“Only by name.”
“Did you know Vance?”
“Yes.”
Cameron’s voice rose.
“And you never told anyone?”
“I convinced myself the district had documentation I didn’t.”
“No.”
Cameron shook his head.
“You convinced yourself you needed the money.”
Daniel did not argue.
That made Cameron angrier.
Laura walked toward the window.
For years she had believed Daniel’s worst flaw was avoiding conflict.
Now she understood what avoidance could cost.
“What happened after your report?” she asked.
Daniel clicked another folder.
“The district renewed Donovan Digital for another three years.”
“How much?”
“Just over two million dollars.”
Nobody spoke.
Cameron thought about Brayden’s smug face.
His mother’s ruler.
Vance trying to call the incident administrative.
Money.
Power.
Adults protecting adults.
Daniel whispered:
“There’s more.”
Laura laughed bitterly.
“Of course there is.”
“Aaron kept doing side work for Donovan Digital.”
“What kind?”
“I don’t know.”
“He’s your business partner.”
“He started handling that relationship himself.”
Daniel opened a bank statement.
Three payments appeared from a company called ED Consulting.
$18,000.
$24,500.
$31,000.
Laura stared.
“Seventy-three thousand dollars.”
Daniel nodded.
“Those payments never entered Mercer Technical’s operating account.”
Cameron looked at him.
“Where did they go?”
Daniel’s voice was barely audible.
“A company Aaron owns alone.”
Laura turned.
“So your brother was being paid personally.”
“Yes.”
“By Mrs. Donovan’s husband.”
“It appears that way.”
Cameron’s phone buzzed.
Phone B.
A message from Tessa.
CALL ME.
He answered.
Tessa did not say hello.
“Cameron, Brayden told me something.”
“What?”
“He said his mom didn’t take your phone because you were breaking a rule.”
Cameron’s heart started pounding.
“What did he say?”
Tessa lowered her voice.
“He said she wanted the video deleted before you could show anyone.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Cameron asked:
“Why was Brayden cheating?”
Tessa paused.
“Because apparently he already knew every answer.”
The room went silent.
May you like
Then she added:
“And he said his mom wasn’t the person who gave them to him.”
Related Stories
