Chapter 28 - The Audit of Reckoning
Three months later.
The morning sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse boardroom at 450 Lexington Avenue.
The name on the frosted glass doors no longer read *Vance Enterprises*. In clean, elegant, modern bronze lettering, the new plaque read: *Miller & Vance Architectural Heritage Group*.
I sat at the head of the twenty-seat mahogany conference table—the exact seat where Victoria had once presided over quarterly reviews, issuing cold dismissals and calculating social eliminations.
Across the table sat twelve nervous board members, all of them white-collared men who had spent years turning a blind eye to Victoria's ruthless accounting practices. Walter sat to my right, a massive stack of forensic audit binders stacked neatly in front of him.
"Item four on the docket," Walter said, tapping his reading glasses against the mahogany table. "The complete restitution of the 1972 patent dividends. With compounded interest, the Miller Trust is owed forty-two million dollars. The funds have been successfully liquidated from Victoria Vance’s offshore holdings in the Cayman Islands following her federal guilty plea."
A quiet, terrified silence hung over the room. No one dared to object.
"And what about Julian?" one of the senior directors asked tentatively, glancing at the empty seat at the far end of the room.
"Julian has formally resigned from all operational duties," I answered smoothly, closing my portfolio. "Under the terms of our divorce settlement, he receives zero voting stock and a modest annual stipend tied to mandatory community service hours with the historic preservation society. He is currently working as an assistant site supervisor on our affordable housing project in Queens."
"He's working with his hands?" the director asked, astonished.
"He's learning what a foundation actually costs," I replied.
The board members nodded rapidly, eager to agree with every syllable that came out of my mouth.
"Now," I continued, standing up and smoothing down the lapels of my tailored navy suit. "Onto the restructuring of the domestic staff pensions. Every maid, cook, landscaper, and maintenance worker who was terminated without severance by Victoria over the last ten years will receive full back-pay and retroactive retirement packages."
Walter smiled warmly from his chair.
"Meeting adjourned, gentlemen," I said.
As the directors filed out of the room, whispering amongst themselves with newfound respect and absolute terror, Walter lingered behind, sliding a single manila envelope across the table toward me.
"What's this, Walter?" I asked, picking it up.
May you like
"It arrived this morning from the county correctional facility," Walter said, his expression turning solemn. "Victoria refused to see Julian during visiting hours. She refused to see George's attorneys. But she demanded that this be delivered directly into your hands."
***
