Chapter 4 - RETALIATION
Within forty-eight hours, the financial freeze hit David like a freight train.
He was staying at a mid-tier extended-stay hotel downtown, having been rejected by his father, who refused to let David stay at the family estate after the humiliation he brought upon the family name.
I was sitting in Sarah’s downtown office on the twenty-fourth floor, reviewing the financial spreadsheets, when David barged through the glass doors of the reception area, flanked by a sleazy, high-priced defense attorney named Marcus Vance.
"Claire!" David yelled, his tie loose, his suit rumpled. "You froze my corporate credit accounts! I can't even pay my legal retainers or cover my project fees!"
Sarah stood up calmly from behind her mahogany desk. "Mr. Vance, control your client before I have building security escort him out for harassment."
Marcus Vance cleared his throat, pulling David back by the arm. "Claire, Sarah... let's be reasonable here. Marriages end, but financial sabotage is a serious accusation. My client is willing to offer a generous lump-sum settlement if you drop the fraud claims and sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding the video footage."
I smiled, folding my hands over the file on the desk. "A non-disclosure agreement? Why, Marcus? Is David afraid the board of directors at his firm might see how he conducts 'business' during work hours?"
David’s face turned bright red. "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me," I said, dropping my soft tone. "You used corporate funds to pay for Elena’s luxury apartment downtown. You listed her as a senior consultant on your company’s ledger, paying her thirty thousand dollars a month for work she never performed. That isn't just infidelity, David. That’s corporate embezzlement."
David took a step back, his confident stance instantly evaporating. "How... how do you know about the apartment?"
"Because unlike you, David, I don't underestimate people," I said calmly. "I hired a private investigator three months ago. I have every receipt, every lease agreement, and every fake invoice you signed off on."
Marcus Vance looked at David, his eyebrows raised in shock. "David... is this true? Did you use company funds?"
David swallowed hard, unable to answer.
"Here’s the deal," Sarah interjected, sliding a new set of documents across the desk. "Claire receives eighty percent of the marital assets, including full ownership of the residential property, the liquid investment accounts, and complete reimbursement of the embezzled funds from David’s personal share of the company stock. In exchange, we don't submit this evidence to your board of directors or the federal tax authorities."
David stared at the papers as if they were dipped in poison. "You're destroying me. You're leaving me with nothing!"
"You destroyed yourself, David," I said quietly, looking him straight in the eyes. "The day you assumed I was too stupid to see through your lies was the day you wrote your own ending."
May you like
He grabbed a pen with a trembling hand, looking at his lawyer for help, but Vance simply gave a quiet, resigned nod. Vance knew they were utterly beaten.
David signed his name on the dotted line, his signature jagged and messy. He hurled the pen across the desk and walked out of the office without saying another word.
