Chapter 6 - The Audit
With Wendy’s public breakdown captured on dozens of cell phones on Oak Street, the legal and financial walls began closing in on the Vance family at a terrifying speed.
My father was not a vengeful man by nature, but he was fiercely protective. Once he realized that Richard and Wendy Vance had been eyeing Sterling Group’s assets to resolve their corporate debts, he ordered a complete forensic audit of every business connection between Vance Logistics and Sterling Group’s supply chains.
What his legal team uncovered turned a personal family dispute into a federal nightmare for the Vances.
On a rainy Tuesday afternoon, Eleanor Vance-Cross presented the findings to my father, Luca, and me in the Sterling corporate boardroom.
"Vance Logistics has been handling cold-storage transport for three of our regional seafood suppliers for the past two years," Eleanor explained, clicking through a series of spreadsheets on the main screen. "When we audited their shipping invoices against their actual fuel and maintenance logs, we discovered systematic overbilling."
Luca leaned forward, rubbing his temples. "Overbilling? My father swore his operations were clean."
"They weren't, Luca," Eleanor said sympathetically. "Your mother wasn't just managing the household expenses. She held an official title as Chief Financial Officer of Vance Logistics. Over the past twenty-four months, she personally authorized forged delivery receipts, billing Sterling Group over six hundred thousand dollars for transportation services that were never rendered."
I looked at Luca. He didn't look surprised anymore—just deeply broken.
"She was stealing from my father's company," I said quietly. "To pay for her designer clothes, her country club dues, and her luxury trips."
"It’s corporate fraud," Eleanor confirmed. "And because the billing crossed state lines between our processing plants in Indiana and our restaurants in Chicago, it falls directly under federal jurisdiction. The FBI's Financial Crimes Division was formally notified this morning."
Luca sat silently for a long moment. Then, he looked up at my father.
"Mr. Sterling," Luca said softly. "I understand if you want me to leave. If you want me out of Maya's life completely. My family has brought nothing but deceit and crime to your doorstep."
My father stood up from his chair, walked around the table, and placed a heavy, reassuring hand on Luca’s shoulder.
"Luca," Samuel said firmly. "You are not your mother. You are not your father. You brought us the truth when you didn't have to. You stood by my daughter on Oak Street when it was painful. Character is not inherited—it is chosen. And you have chosen honor."
Tears spilled from Luca's eyes. He wiped them away quickly, nodding with deep gratitude.
"What happens to Richard and Wendy now?" I asked Eleanor.
"Federal agents served search warrants at the Vance Logistics headquarters in West Loop an hour ago," Eleanor replied calmly. "Richard Vance is currently cooperating with authorities. But Wendy... Wendy tried to transfer two hundred thousand dollars from a hidden offshore account to a personal bank in the Cayman Islands thirty minutes ago."
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"Did she make it?" I asked.
Eleanor smiled grimly. "The Department of Justice froze her accounts ten minutes before the transfer went through. Her arrest warrant was issued at noon."
