Chapter 5 - The Audit and the Empire
The quiet that settled over the estate after they left was absolute.
I walked upstairs, opened the nursery door, and sat down in the rocking chair beside Cora's crib. The soft rhythm of her breathing was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. For the first time in six years, the air in my home felt clean.
An hour later, Marcus knocked gently on the doorframe before stepping inside. He handed me a warm cup of herbal tea and pulled up a small wooden stool.
"The locks have been changed," Marcus reported softly. "A private security detail of four armed officers will remain stationed at the front gates and the perimeter twenty-four hours a day. Julian Vance, his mother, and Miss Davis have been blacklisted from entering the gated community."
"Thank you, Marcus," I whispered, sipping the tea. "What's the status of the financial audit?"
Marcus pulled out his tablet, tapping the glass screen. His expression turned grave.
"It’s worse than we anticipated, Eleanor," Marcus said. "Over the past eighteen months, Julian transferred nearly $1.4 million out of Vance Logistics operating accounts into a series of shell companies registered in Delaware."
I closed my eyes for a brief moment, letting out a long breath. "Where did the money go?"
"A luxury high-rise condo in downtown Richmond registered under Chloe Davis's name," Marcus revealed. "Along with $200,000 in credit card payments for your mother-in-law's gambling debts at the casino in Atlantic City, and various luxury purchases—jewelry, designer clothes, private jet rentals."
I opened my eyes, looking down at my hands. "He was stealing from my family trust to fund his mistress and keep his mother quiet."
"Precisely," Marcus said. "He believed that because you were pregnant and distracted with the house, you would never look at the secondary ledgers. He assumed you were completely dependent on him emotionally."
"He mistook my patience for weakness," I said quietly. "He thought because I kept a low profile and let him play the big CEO in public, I didn't know how the machinery worked."
"So, what are your instructions?" Marcus asked, his pen hovering over his notepad. "We can file emergency criminal charges for grand embezzlement tomorrow morning. He could face ten to fifteen years."
I looked over at Cora. She stirred in her sleep, stretching her tiny fingers.
"No," I said softly. "Not yet. If we throw him in prison immediately, he becomes a martyr in the eyes of his family. He’ll play the victim, claim I used my wealth to frame him, and try to draw this out in public trials that could put Cora's name in the tabloids."
"What do you propose?"
"I want him broke first," I said, my voice turning to steel. "I want him to taste what it feels like to have nothing. Cut off every line of credit. Notify every bank in Virginia that he is under investigation for corporate fraud so no one will lend him a single dime. Contact his clients at Vance Logistics and inform them that the board has suspended all operations pending an emergency restructuring."
Marcus’s lips curved into a subtle, approving smile. "And his mother?"
"Victoria’s country club membership is paid through my family’s charitable foundation," I said. "Revoke it tonight. Send an invoice to her apartment for the $200,000 in casino debts Julian cleared using trust money. If she doesn't pay within forty-eight hours, file a civil lien against her condo."
"Consider it done," Marcus said.
By midnight, the news had already begun to ripple through Richmond's high-society circles.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. It was a text message from an unknown number.
Eleanor, please. You're destroying my life! My mom is having a panic attack. We're staying in a cheap motel near the highway. Chloe took her things and left me! Please, just talk to me. I'll do anything. I'll sign whatever you want. Just don't do this to me.
I looked at the message for three seconds.
May you like
I didn't reply.
I simply blocked the number, turned my phone to 'Do Not Disturb,' and held my newborn daughter tight against my chest as I finally fell into a peaceful, deep sleep.
