Ghost audit

The dead cannot give permission. But someone has found a way to make it look like they can.Eleven weeks after Ellis Kade dies, his estate authorizes the sale of his house. The paperwork is complete. The signatures are valid. The transaction has already been approved.There's just one problem. The authorization references information that didn't exist until after Ellis was dead.County auditor Leah Sutter expects to find a clerical error. Instead, she uncovers a system that turns old permissions into new decisions, allowing private companies to move money, sell property, and charge estates without anyone taking responsibility.The deeper Leah digs, the more disturbing the pattern becomes. Families are losing inheritances. Banks are accepting questionable approvals. And a powerful settlement company is profiting from transactions supposedly authorized by people who can no longer object.When Leah discovers that the company may have known about the problem all along, her routine audit becomes a fight against an operation protected by contracts, automated systems, and institutions that cannot afford to shut it down.With help from Rachel Voss, whose earlier investigation exposed the dangers of digital identities acting beyond death, Leah must prove where legitimate administration ends and fraud begins.But exposing the truth could disrupt the same systems thousands of families depend on.Every transaction has a record. Every decision should have a responsible person. Someone has made sure these decisions have neither.The Ghost Audit is a grounded technological and legal thriller about corporate corruption, digital identity, financial exploitation, and the dangerous gap between what a system is authorized to do and what it actually does.Book Three in the Rachel Voss Series. Features a complete central investigation that can be enjoyed as a standalone.