Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Ambush
Two days passed in a blur of legal motions, financial forensic audits, and corporate restructuring.
Through my high-school friend's recommendation, I hired Victoria Sterling, a legendary corporate litigation attorney in downtown Phoenix whose reputation for destroying fraudulent ex-spouses was unmatched.
Sitting in Victoria’s corner office on the twenty-fourth floor of the Chase Tower, surrounded by mountains of bank statements and printed WhatsApp chats, I felt, for the first time in four years, entirely in control of my own life.
"Your ex-husband is an amateur," Victoria said, sliding a gold fountain pen between her fingers as she reviewed the ledger. "He left a digital paper trail so wide a blind man could follow it. He was using your corporate PayPal account to pay Brittany Ross's obstetrician bills, Naomi. That isn't just embezzlement; that's criminal fraud."
"Can he sue for half the business in the divorce?" I asked anxiously.
Victoria let out a cold, sharp laugh. "Arizona is a community property state, yes, but fraud entirely voids community property protections regarding business assets. Furthermore, because he funneled stolen funds into a shell company owned by his mother, we aren't just filing for divorce. We are filing a civil RICO suit against Javier, Lydia, and Lydia Management LLC."
"What about the cosmetics inventory?" I asked. "Our primary warehouse is located in East Phoenix. Javier held the physical keys."
Victoria’s eyes narrowed. "Held? Past tense?"
"I had the security team re-key the warehouse yesterday afternoon," I smiled thin. "Along with installing six new motion-activated cameras."
Right on cue, my phone chimed with an alert from my warehouse security application.
I unlocked my screen and brought up the live video feed.
There, standing in the bright Arizona sun outside the corrugated metal doors of my warehouse, were Javier, Lydia, and a tall, burly man wearing an orange reflective vest next to a large commercial moving truck.
Lydia was wearing a brightly colored floral dress, waving her arms dramatically at the electronic keypad, while Javier repeatedly punched in his old access code. Every time the keypad flashed red and beeped in rejection, Javier slammed his fist against the metal door.
"Look at this," I said, turning the phone toward Victoria and Wyatt.
Victoria leaned over, her eyebrows rising in amusement. "They brought a moving truck? What were they planning to do?"
"They were going to liquidate my remaining raw ingredient stock and high-end finished product inventory," I said, my chest tightening with residual anger. "That warehouse holds over $400,000 worth of specialized skincare formulations. If he had stolen that, my company would have gone bankrupt by Friday."
"Watch this," Victoria said, picking up her office landline and dialing a direct number. "Detective Miller? This is Victoria Sterling. I have live video confirmation of Javier Carter and Lydia Carter attempting to breach the premises of Naomi Vance Beauty Enterprises at the East Phoenix facility. Yes, the temporary restraining order was served two hours ago... Excellent."
On the phone screen, two black-and-white Phoenix Police patrol cars pulled into the warehouse parking lot with their lights flashing silently.
Javier froze as the officers stepped out of their vehicles. Lydia immediately began shrieking at the officers, pointing her finger at the warehouse doors, clearly claiming she had a right to be there.
We watched in vivid high-definition as an officer approached Javier, checked his ID against a clipboard, and handed him a white envelope containing the temporary restraining order and the civil injunction.
When Javier tried to argue, gesturing wildly, the officer placed a hand on his taser holster and pointed toward the street.
Lydia began hopping up and down on the pavement in a fit of rage, her face turning crimson, until the officers escorted both of them back to Javier's sedan and watched them drive away like defeated dogs.
Wyatt let out a low whistle. "She didn't get to slap anyone this time."
"She’s lucky they didn't cuff her right there," Victoria remarked, setting the landline down. "Naomi, this was just their desperate attempt to secure liquid assets before the freeze hits. By 4:00 PM today, the court will issue an emergency asset freeze on all accounts associated with Lydia Management LLC."
May you like
"What does that mean for them?" I asked.
"It means," Victoria smiled wickedly, "that Javier and his mother won't even have enough cash to pay for a cup of coffee, let alone Brittany Ross's luxury townhome. Every cent they stole is officially locked in judicial limbo."
