Chapter 4 - The Normandy Investigation
By the following afternoon, Julien and his mother had checked into a modest hotel near Gare Saint-Lazare—the very same man who twenty-four hours earlier had been boasting about his corporate dominance.
He spent the entire morning trying to reach me, leaving thirty-seven missed calls and dozens of frantic text messages pleading for a meeting. I blocked his personal number and routed all communications directly through Maitre Dupont's office.
At 2:00 PM, Maitre Dupont arrived at my triplex with a thick black binder containing a complete financial analysis of Julien's corporate standing.
"Claire," Dupont said, setting his coffee cup down on my patio table. "We have pulled the corporate registry for Julien's firm, Vance & Partners Financial. As you know, Julien earns twenty-five thousand euros a month as a managing director. However, his lifestyle expenses—including the luxury SUV leases, his mother's shopping sprees, and his high-end club memberships—were exceeding thirty-five thousand euros a month."
"How was he covering the gap?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He was using corporate expense accounts," Dupont revealed, pulling out a stack of flagged receipts. "He logged his mother's boutique visits as 'client entertainment' and his brother's construction supplies in Normandy as 'regional office developments.' He was effectively committing corporate embezzlement to keep up the illusion of wealth."
I let out a soft, sharp laugh. "He was so desperate to impress his toxic mother that he broke federal financial laws."
"It gets worse," Dupont continued. "We contacted the local planning office in Normandy regarding Tristan’s 'manor.' It turns out the land isn't even registered under Tristan’s name. Éléonore registered the entire property under her name. She was using Julien’s salary to build herself a retirement palace, while leaving Julien completely exposed to corporate fraud charges."
I stared at the documents in utter disbelief. Éléonore hadn't just favored her younger son—she had systematically bled her older son dry, willing to let him go to prison as long as her luxury estate in the countryside was completed.
"Does Julien know?" I asked.
May you like
"Not yet," Dupont smiled grimly. "He currently believes his mother is holding his savings in trust for his family. He drove down to Normandy this morning with her to confront Tristan and inspect 'his' investment."
"Keep the private investigator on them," I ordered. "I want full high-definition video of that family reunion."
