Chapter 4 - The Serpent in the House
Lena spent the next week quietly observing her new husband.
The suspicion gnawed at her night and day. Was Julian using her merely to secure his fortune? Was the entire story about his grandfather’s will a elaborate fabrication designed to hide a deeper, darker financial crime?
Her answers came from an unexpected source: Arthur Hale, Julian’s bitter uncle and vice-chairman of the board.
Arthur cornered Lena in the estate garden while Julian was attending an out-of-town conference.
"My dear Lena," Arthur said smoothly, stepping out from behind the hedge, his silver hair neatly styled, his smile dripping with false sympathy. "You look radiant in that dress. It’s a pity Julian is using your innocence to cover his tracks."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Hale," Lena replied, stepping back toward the house.
"Don't you?" Arthur pulled a tablet from his coat and displayed a series of offshore banking records. "Julian didn't marry you because my mother liked you. He married you because under North Carolina corporate law, assets transferred to a spouse during a marital period cannot be subpoenaed by federal auditors."
Lena felt the ground sway beneath her feet. "Federal auditors?"
"Julian has been draining Hale Corporation’s reserve accounts for eighteen months," Arthur whispered leanly. "He’s setting up a fall guy. When the board audits the company next month, millions of missing dollars will trace directly back to the dummy accounts he set up under your fashion line's name."
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"No..." Lena shook her head, tears pricking her eyes. "Julian wouldn't do that."
"Julian lies about everything, my dear," Arthur smiled coldly. "He lied about his father's death. He lied about the contract. And he is setting you up to take the blame for a fifty-million-dollar fraud."
