Chapter 7 - The Unraveling
"What did you just say?" Arthur whispered, his voice trembling with sudden dread.
I slid the printed bank records across the marble coffee table toward him. "Amanda’s luxury boutique hasn't turned a profit in four years. How do you think she funded her designer lifestyle? Richard has been falsifying procurement invoices from your European suppliers, routing the excess into an account in the Cayman Islands under Amanda’s maiden initials."
Arthur snatched the papers, his hands shaking violently as his eyes darted across the account numbers, signatures, and wire transfer confirmations. As the founder of the company, he knew the accounting signatures intimately. The forged signatures on the transfer authorizations were undeniably Richard's handwriting.
"This... this cannot be," Arthur choked out, his chest heaving. "Richard wouldn't steal from his own blood."
"Richard stole nearly fourteen million dollars over the last thirty-six months," I said mercilessly. "And Eleanor helped him conceal it to protect their status in the country club circle. The only person in your household who didn't know about the fraud was you, Arthur, because they kept you drugged on pride and golf trips."
He collapsed back against the sofa cushions, looking suddenly twenty years older. The arrogant billionaire patriarch had evaporated, leaving behind a broken man betrayed by the very children he had indulged.
"Why are you showing this to me now?" Arthur asked, his voice barely audible. "Why didn't you hand this to the federal prosecutors?"
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"Because unlike your family, I don't destroy people needlessly," I replied evenly. "I’m giving you twenty-four hours to remove Richard from the executive board, cut Amanda off completely, and sign off on an uncontested divorce that grants me my lawful share of marital assets. If you try to protect them, these exact documents land on the desk of the Securities and Exchange Commission tomorrow morning."
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