Force of Nature

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying and violence.

Aaron and Carmen’s investigation targets the organized financial crimes that habitually occur at Bailey Tennant. Both Daniel Bailey and his father are involved in the complex money-laundering conspiracy, but Aaron also alludes to Alice’s complicity. When Alice goes missing, she is just about to provide Aaron with the documents he needs to prove Daniel’s guilt. Many of these documents are company contracts, and they are mentioned repeatedly throughout the narrative, becoming one of its key motifs. For example, Aaron and Carmen worry that Daniel or another employee might have found out about Alice’s cooperation with their investigation. Because they fear that she has been deliberately silenced for her clandestine actions, their concerns highlight The Impact of Corporate Greed. The contracts in question go back years and prove that embezzlement is part of the corporate culture at Bailey Tennant. 

The author also uses this aspect of the narrative to explore the corrosive nature that greed has on the individuals and families involved with unethical corporations. Aaron and Carmen uncover that Bailey Tennant has always been a funnel for illicit cash, and they know that the Bailey family has long profited from these habitual acts of embezzlement and fraud, building a lavish lifestyle from the untaxed, undeclared income that this scheme has generated.