Chapter 4 - The Fraud and the Confrontation
"Where is the six hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Thomas?" I asked.
His posture froze. "It wasn't stealing! It was an investment! My brother and I... we started a commercial real estate development project back home! I was going to put all the money back into Botanica Jade before you even noticed!"
"You mortgaged my life’s work for your brother’s pipe dream?" I shouted. "I built Botanica Jade with my own sweat and blood while you sat around complaining about your failed tech startups! You stole from your own wife and daughter to fund your useless brother!"
"It’s marital property!" Thomas yelled back. "Half of Botanica Jade belongs to me! I worked as your logistics director! I had the right to move those funds!"
"You forged my signature on patent paperwork," I said coldly. "That is corporate fraud, bank fraud, and grand larceny."
I had security escort Thomas out of the building. I drove straight to Eleanor’s law firm. Spread across the large oak table were stacks of financial transfers and corporate filings.
"He used a forged power of attorney document with a fake notary stamp to pledge your core product formulas as collateral to a private lending firm," Eleanor explained. "The $300,000 loan money was wired directly to Carol Swift’s personal bank account two weeks ago. Carol transferred $200,000 to purchase a luxury lakefront property in her hometown in her own name."
"Carol knew?" I asked, stunned.
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"She requested it," Eleanor said.
"Eleanor," I said softly. "I don't just want a divorce. I want to bankrupt every single one of them. I want that house seized, I want every dollar recovered, and I want Thomas, his brother, and his mother to face the full weight of the law."
