Chapter 10 - CALEB ROSS WAS THE FIRST PERSON WHO TRIED TO STOP HERCaleb had discovered the dual-client conflict.
He confronted Sloan.
She threatened to expose an unrelated personal issue:
Years earlier, he had falsified an expense report to hide a gambling trip.
Small compared with the current scheme.
Career-damaging.
He panicked.
Paid.
Then realized the network was larger.
He warned Preston vaguely.
Why vaguely?
Shame.
Fear.
Then resigned.
The $275,000 transfer we thought was bribery was actually partial repayment to Caleb from a lender after he liquidated investments to meet Sloan’s demand.
Same transaction.
Opposite story.
That taught me something I already knew professionally:
A ledger tells you movement.
Not meaning.
You still need context.
Caleb became a key cooperating witness.
His evidence connected Sloan to pressure tactics.
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Not enough to prove every public payment was bribe money.
But enough to widen the investigation.
