Scorched Earth Policy

Cade Orin made a decision that destroyed four lives.Nate Schiller wrote the report that destroyed Cade's career.Now they're trapped together in a remote mountain lodge, conducting an audit that's about much more than numbers.When forensic accountant Nate Schiller arrives to audit Meridian Capital, he expects resistance from the man he exposed three years ago. Instead, he finds Cade Orin waiting—cooperative, precise, and impossible to read.As they work through the documentation, Nate realizes the audit is a labyrinth of timing, intent, and moral calculation that goes far beyond financial compliance.What begins as a professional confrontation turns dangerous when Petra Voss, a senior partner with secrets of her own, arrives early to review the findings. The exit window timing, the Adler Advisory engagement, and the investors' losses form a pattern—one that could bring down an entire financial empire.But only if Nate can prove intent where the documents show only compliance.In the cold isolation of the lodge, two men who should be enemies discover that truth and accountability have their own calculus.The audit is complete.The reckoning has only just begun.