Chapter 4 - THE PAPER TRAIL OF SINS
I spent the next three days in a haze of Scotch and desperation,
hiding out in a cheap motel where no one would recognize me.
My phone was a constant source of anxiety,
buzzing with texts from my partners demanding to know where I was,
and alerts from my bank about frozen accounts.
Finally,
I forced myself to meet Marcus again.
He looked even more haggard than before.
"Julian,
it's getting worse,"
he said,
spreading out a series of documents on his desk.
"Claire didn't just find the embezzlement.
She found the construction kickbacks from the Hudson project."
I felt a cold sweat break out on my neck.
The Hudson project was a massive development we had finished two years ago.
I had taken millions in under-the-table payments from contractors to ensure they got the bids.
"She has the ledgers,
Julian,"
Marcus said,
his voice a whisper.
"Actual,
physical ledgers that you kept in that safe in the basement.
The one you told her contained only old family documents."
"She broke into the safe?"
I asked,
though I already knew the answer.
"She didn't have to break into it,"
Marcus sighed.
"She’s known the combination for years.
She just waited for the right moment to open it.
She’s turned copies over to the IRS and the SEC.
They’ve already opened a formal inquiry."
I put my head in my hands.
"What does she want,
Marcus?
Just tell me what she wants to make this stop."
"She doesn't want anything from you anymore,"
he replied.
"She’s already taken it.
The firm is in receivership.
The board of directors met this morning and voted to terminate you with cause.
You’ve been stripped of your shares and your voting rights.
The Greenwich house is being listed for sale tomorrow.
She’s already moved her things into a private trust-owned property that we can't locate."
"And Noah?"
I asked,
the name of my son feeling like a jagged piece of glass in my throat.
"She filed for a permanent restraining order,"
Marcus said,
handing me a legal document.
"Based on the evidence of your financial instability and your...
extramarital activities,
she’s arguing that you are an unfit parent and a flight risk.
The judge granted a temporary order.
You can't go within five hundred feet of her or the child."
I looked at the document,
the words "unfit parent" burning into my retinas.
I had never even changed Noah’s diaper.
I had never stayed up with him when he was teething.
I had never even seen his first smile.
And now,
I might never get the chance.
"She’s destroying me,"
I said,
a sudden spark of anger flickering in my chest.
"She’s systematically dismantling my life!"
"You gave her the tools,
Julian,"
Marcus said,
his voice devoid of sympathy.
"You spent years giving her every piece of evidence she needed.
You assumed she was the same quiet,
compliant woman you married ten years ago.
But people change when they’re pushed to the brink.
Especially mothers."
I stood up,
knocking over my chair.
"I'll fight this.
I'll hire the best investigators.
I'll find where she’s hiding."
"With what money?"
Marcus asked,
simply.
"Your personal accounts are frozen.
Your credit cards are declined.
Your assets are tied up in litigation.
You’re effectively broke,
Julian."
I stared at him,
the reality of my situation finally sinking in.
May you like
I wasn't just losing a battle.
I had already lost the war.
