Chapter 7 - THE AUDIT UNCOVERS FRAUD
By Wednesday morning, forty-eight hours had passed since the Notice of Acceleration was served.
At 9:00 a.m., Arthur Vance and Victoria Sterling walked into my office with a thick, red-bound dossier.
"It's over for them legally, Daniel," Victoria said, setting the folder on my desk. "The forty-eight-hour window has expired without payment. We have officially filed for the immediate receivership of Collins Enterprises."
"And the personal assets?"
"Because Martin Collins and Greg Collins signed personal cross-collateralization guarantees for their business loans, their personal bank accounts have been frozen as of 8:00 a.m. today," Arthur added. "Including the house Claire is currently living in."
"What about the forensic audit on Greg's project ledger?" I asked.
Arthur’s expression darkened. "That’s where things get much worse for them. Our forensic accountants went through the sub-contract allocations for the Northside Logistics project. Greg Collins didn't just mismanage funds—he actively committed wire fraud and grand larceny."
Arthur opened the binder, pointing to a series of wire transfers.
"Over the last eighteen months, Greg created three fictitious vendor entities: 'Midwest Supply Co.', 'Apex Concrete Solutions', and 'Tri-State Rentals'. He generated fake invoices, approved them himself as project manager, and wired a total of $1.1 million from the project account into bank accounts registered in the Cayman Islands."
I leaned back, taking a deep breath. "Did Martin know?"
"Martin was signing off on the monthly reconciliation reports without looking at them," Arthur explained. "Whether he was in on it or he was just grossly negligent doesn't matter legally. As the legal President of the company, he signed fraudulent financial attestations submitted to the state."
"This isn't just a civil foreclosure anymore, Daniel," Victoria said seriously. "This is a federal criminal case. Wire fraud, bank fraud, and corporate embezzlement exceeding one million dollars."
I looked out the window at the snow falling over the city.
When I started this corporate response, my goal was simple: to strip away the unearned wealth and arrogance that had allowed the Collins family to torment my daughter and humiliate me. I wanted to teach them a lesson in humility.
I hadn't realized how truly rotten they were beneath the surface.
"What do you want to do, Daniel?" Victoria asked softly. "If we submit these forensic audit findings to the State Prosecutor's Office, Greg is looking at five to ten years in federal prison. Martin could face criminal negligence charges."
I thought about Sophie. I thought about the girl who had spent eight years listening to these men call her father a loser, a worthless grunt, a man without a future.
I thought about the cold porch on Christmas Eve.
"Hand the entire file over to the United States Attorney’s Office," I said flatly. "Let justice take its complete course."
At 1:00 p.m. that same day, two dark sedans pulled into the driveway of Collins Enterprises' corporate building. Four agents from the State Financial Crimes Unit walked through the front doors with a federal search warrant.
By 2:30 p.m., news crews were broadcasting live outside the building as Greg Collins was led out in handcuffs, his head bowed, coat draped over his wrists to hide the steel restraints.
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Martin Collins was escorted out right behind him, clutching his chest, sobbing uncontrollably as reporters shouted questions about the missing millions.
The Collins family empire hadn't just fallen. It had been completely erased.
