Chapter 4 - The Unraveling
Eleanor let out a sharp, theatrical shriek. "What?! Dissolution? Injunction?! Nathan, what is this nonsense?!"
Nathan stared at the legal documents in his trembling hands, his eyes scanning the bold black lettering at the top of the first page:
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT RE: REED HOLDINGS LLC & REED DINING GROUP ORDER FOR IMMEDIATE ASSET FREEZE & RESIDENTIAL RECEIVERSHIP
"This... this is impossible," Nathan stammered, looking up at me, panic finally breaking through his arrogant facade. "You can't freeze the corporate accounts! We have payroll tomorrow! We have vendor payouts for the new downtown location on Monday!"
"There is no new downtown location, Nathan," I said, taking a step forward while keeping Lily safely behind me. "I reviewed the lease agreements you claimed to have signed. You’ve been transferring three hundred thousand dollars a month into an off-shore account registered under Lawson Enterprises—a dummy corporation owned by Brooke."
The crowd gasped again. Brooke turned white as a sheet, backing toward the rear exit, but a second security guard politely blocked the hallway behind her.
"You're stealing from our company to fund your assistant’s luxury lifestyle," I continued smoothly. "Every diamond she’s wearing tonight, every lease payment on her sports car, was paid for using capital meant for our employees' health insurance and performance bonuses."
"That's a lie!" Brooke shrieked, her voice cracking. "Nathan gave me those as performance bonuses!"
"A performance bonus of four hundred thousand dollars for an entry-level administrative assistant?" I laughed softly. "The forensic audit completed at five o'clock today says otherwise, Brooke. The State Attorney’s Fraud Division has already received the preliminary dossier."
My father-in-law, Arthur Reed, who had been sitting quietly in his leather armchair near the fire, suddenly stood up, his face flushed with rage. He glared at his son.
"Nathan!" Arthur boomed, his voice shaking. "Is this true? Did you embezzle company funds?!"
"Dad, no! She’s setting me up!" Nathan cried, sweat breaking out across his forehead. "Clara’s just jealous because—"
"I don't set traps, Nathan. I just keep the books," I interrupted. "And speaking of books... Arthur, Eleanor... I suggest you check your personal mail tomorrow morning."
Eleanor froze. "What does our mail have to do with this?!"
I turned and gestured to the grand chandelier, the marble floors, and the sweeping staircase of the mansion.
"Three years ago, when your personal real estate investments failed and this house was forty-eight hours away from public foreclosure, Nathan came to me begging for a bail-out," I said loudly enough for every guest to hear. "I agreed to use corporate reserves to buy out the mortgage. But I didn't buy it under Nathan’s name. I bought it under Clara Vance Holdings."
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Silence fell over the room—so absolute that you could hear the fire crackling in the hearth.
"This house doesn't belong to Nathan," I said, pulling a certified property deed from my coat pocket. "It doesn't belong to the Reed family. It belongs exclusively to me. And as of seven o'clock tonight, the lease agreement permitting you to reside here has been formally terminated due to non-payment of property taxes."
