Chapter 4 - The Boardroom in the Bedroom
Arthur Pendelton arrived exactly twenty minutes later, accompanied by a sharp-faced woman in a dark gray suit who introduced herself as Ms. Vance—no relation to Eric, ironically—the firm’s chief legal officer.
I didn't waste time with pleasantries. I handed Arthur my tablet, which was pre-loaded with the entire forensic breakdown of the mirrored hard drive, the offshore wire transfers, and the property deeds linking Eric's corporate embezzlement to his mother’s real estate assets.
Arthur’s face went through a terrifying progression of colors: from pale confusion, to deep crimson, to a deathly, hollow white. He stared at the screen, his hands shaking so hard the tablet rattled against his rings.
"He... he told me these discrepancies were due to a software glitch in our billing platform," Arthur whispered, his voice cracking with betrayal. "He said he was working with the developers to trace the missing funds. He was lying to my face every single day."
"He was using the money to fund his mother's lifestyle and buy properties under her name to shield them from your corporate tax liabilities," I explained calmly. "And right now, as we speak, he is at my house trying to break into my personal business account to steal another hundred thousand dollars to cover up the hole before your scheduled internal audit next week."
The legal officer, Ms. Vance, leaned over Arthur’s shoulder, her eyes scanning the forensic trail with professional efficiency. A cold, ruthless smile appeared on her lips.
"This is immaculate work, Mrs. Vance," she said, looking at me with newfound respect. "You've handed us a complete, air-tight case on a silver platter. We don't even need to wait for the audit. We can file for an immediate emergency injunction to freeze every single asset associated with Eric and his mother."
"That’s exactly what I want," I said. "But I want it done precisely at 2:00 PM. That’s exactly when Eric will attempt to log into my business server from my home laptop. The moment he hits 'enter,' his location will be verified, and he will be caught red-handed attempting a secondary fraudulent transaction."
Arthur looked up at me, his eyes filled with immense gratitude but also sorrow. "Maya... I am so sorry. He did this to you while you were pregnant? He stole your delivery fund?"
"He tried to," I corrected, my jaw tightening. "But Eric forgot one very simple rule of accounting: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. He thought he was clearing the ledger. He was actually just signing his own bankruptcy."
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"What do you need from us?" Ms. Vance asked, pulling out her phone.
"File the corporate fraud charges with the state police now," I instructed. "Have the detectives waiting at my house. When Eric opens that laptop, he won't be looking at my bank balance. He'll be looking at a warrant for his arrest."
