Chapter 5 - Uncovering the Audit
Mr. Vance walked into the sunroom carrying two thick blue ledgers. He set them down on the marble table right in front of my parents.
"Over the past forty-eight hours," Mr. Vance explained, opening the ledgers, "at Mrs. June’s explicit command, a forensic financial audit was conducted on all joint accounts, family trusts, and power-of-attorney authorizations spanning the last six years."
My mother’s hysterical weeping suddenly stopped. Her face went completely blank, the color draining from her lips until she looked like a corpse.
"What is this?" my father muttered nervously.
"This," Mr. Vance said, flipping to a highlighted section, "is a record of forty-two unauthorized wire transfers from Mrs. June’s secondary investment fund to an offshore holding account registered under the name Evelyn Miller Enterprises."
I gasped, looking at Grandma June. She didn't look surprised—only deeply disappointed.
"Total amount stolen over six years," Mr. Vance read aloud: "$1.42 million."
"You... you stole from your own mother?" I whispered, staring at Evelyn in utter disbelief.
"She didn't need it!" Evelyn screamed, abandoning all pretense of innocence as her voice turned sharp and unhinged. "She has tens of millions! She sits in this huge house all by herself while we struggle to maintain our lifestyle! We sacrificed our lives taking care of her!"
"Taking care of me?" June echoed, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "You visited me twice a month to pick up your checks! It was Lydia who brought Vivien here every Sunday to plant flowers in the garden. It was Lydia who stayed with me in the hospital when I had my hip surgery while you were on a cruise in Cabo!"
June tapped the ledger with her silver ring.
"You and Monica didn't attack Vivien just because of jealousy," June said, uncovering the final piece of the dark puzzle. "You attacked her because you knew that once Vivien turned eighteen and her trust was activated, my legal estate would undergo a mandatory federal tax audit—which would have instantly exposed your theft!"
The silence in the room was absolute.
My mother stared at the floor, completely shattered. My father put his hands over his face and began to sob quietly.
"You have twenty-four hours to sign over your shares of the family property to repay the stolen funds," June told them cold-bloodedly. "If you do not, Mr. Vance will hand these ledgers directly to the State Prosecutor along with the cyber-crime evidence."
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"June... please," my father begged from behind his hands.
"Get out of my house," Grandma June said, turning her back on them to look out over the sunlit gardens. "And do not ever come near my great-granddaughter again."
