Chapter 6 - Unearthing the Truth
The forensic audit took ten days, but what it revealed was a massive web of corruption that went far beyond Sarah’s stolen inheritance.
David’s brother-in-law, a high-ranking official in the city's zoning department, had been receiving massive, undocumented wire transfers from David’s business accounts. In exchange, David’s real estate development company had been granted prime public land for pennies on the dollar.
Worse, the ten million dollars of Sarah's inheritance hadn't just been transferred; it had been used to cover up a massive embezzlement scheme within David’s own company. He had been stealing from his clients' trust funds for years to fund his lavish lifestyle, his mansion, and Margaret’s expensive lifestyle.
"He was running a Ponzi scheme, Sarah," Arthur explained during a meeting with their legal team. "Your inheritance was his desperate attempt to fill the hole before the federal auditors arrived next month. He didn't just steal from you because he wanted the money. He stole from you because if he didn't, he was going to federal prison."
Sarah looked at the spreadsheets, the complicated maps of offshore accounts, and the forged signatures on her trust documents. The signature on the power of attorney form was a clumsy imitation of her handwriting, dated three months ago—a time when she had been bedridden with a severe flu.
"He drugged me," Sarah whispered, the memory suddenly slotting into place. "During the flu. He kept bringing me hot tea, telling me to sleep. I was so out of it for days..."
The lead attorney, a sharp-eyed woman named Evelyn Vance (no relation to David's family), nodded. "We can prove the signature is a forgery. And we have a subpoena for the bank's internal security footage. The day the transfer was authorized, David’s friend, Julian, bypassed the two-factor authentication manually."
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Evelyn smiled warmly at Sarah. "We have them, Sarah. Both criminally and civilly. But the custody hearing is tomorrow. David is going to try to use the assault as a 'marital dispute' to claim you are trying to alienate him from his daughter."
Sarah tightened her grip on her armrests. "Let him try."
