Chapter 6 - The Corporate Paper Trail
Two hours later, the grand ballroom had been cleared of guests. The champagne flutes were abandoned on white tablecloths, the flowers wilted under the harsh fluorescent lights of the crime scene investigators.
I sat in my private office upstairs at the estate, flanked by Christina, Aunt Rebecca, and my lead corporate attorney, Arthur Pendelton.
Leo was fast asleep on the leather sofa, wrapped in a warm fleece blanket, safe in the knowledge that his mother was beside him.
Arthur laid a thick stack of financial documents across my desk.
"Jonathan," Arthur said, his expression deeply grave. "We just finished running a full forensic audit of the corporate accounts with the FBI."
"How bad is it, Arthur?" I asked, sipping a cup of black coffee.
"If you had signed that marriage certificate today," Arthur explained, pointing to a series of forged wire instructions, "a pre-nup addendum that Victoria slipped into the paperwork would have triggered an automatic corporate restructuring. Victoria and Julian had already initiated a transfer of thirty-four percent of Sterling Global's real estate portfolio to a dummy corporation in Panama."
"And Julian?" Christina asked, holding a ice pack against her forehead.
"Julian signed off on the internal transfers as CFO," Arthur said. "He was deeply in debt to an illegal gambling syndicate in Macau. Victoria discovered his debts three years ago and used them to blackmail him into becoming her insider."
I leaned back in my executive leather chair, staring out the window at the setting sun over the Chicago skyline.
For two years, I had lived in a manufactured dream. Victoria had systematically isolated me from my oldest friends, subtly poisoned my relationship with Christina, and placed corrupt individuals in key positions throughout my company.
If Leo hadn't walked up to me with that USB drive ten minutes before the ceremony...
I looked across the room at my sleeping grandson. His small chest rose and fell in a peaceful, steady rhythm.
"Dad," Christina said softly, walking over and placing her hand gently on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"
May you like
I reached up and held my daughter's hand, feeling the warmth of her skin, the real, unconditional love that no amount of money could ever buy.
"I've never been better, sweetheart," I said, a tear finally slipping down my cheek. "The dream is over. But reality is so much better."
