Chapter 6 - Unholy Alliances
The next few weeks were a bloodbath in the media. "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF AMBROSE" splashed across every local paper and society blog. My boutiques saw a massive surge in sales—turns out, women love supporting a female founder who ruthlessly destroys a cheating husband.
But cornered animals are the most dangerous. Janelle, now living in a cheap motel after being evicted from my property, was not going down without a fight. She allied herself with Vanessa Sterling. Together, they hired a sleazy, high-profile defense attorney, aiming to twist the narrative.
They leaked fabricated stories to the tabloids, claiming I was an abusive, controlling wife who had orchestrated the whole thing to steal the Ambrose family's generational wealth. They claimed the money Ryan took was rightfully his as an "unpaid consultant" for my business.
My lawyer, a shark named Elena, sat across from me in my office. "Charlotte, they are trying to muddy the waters to force a settlement. Ryan is facing five to ten years in federal prison. They want you to drop the civil suit and refuse to testify in the criminal case in exchange for a quiet divorce."
"Never," I said flatly. "I want my money back."
"The offshore accounts are tricky," Elena warned. "Vanessa moved a large chunk of the funds into crypto wallets. Unless we can get someone on the inside to flip and hand over the private keys, recovering the full six million will take years."
That afternoon, I received an unexpected phone call. It was Hugo.
I hadn't spoken to my father-in-law since the night of the gala. He had quietly packed his bags, left Janelle, and moved into a small apartment downtown.
"Charlotte," his voice was rough, tired. "Can we meet? I have something you need."
We met at a quiet diner near the docks. Hugo looked like a ghost. He pushed a leather-bound journal and a USB drive across the table.
"What is this?" I asked.
"I was a judge for thirty years, Charlotte. I know the law, and I know when justice is required, even if it destroys my own flesh and blood," Hugo said, refusing to meet my eyes. "When I realized what Ryan had done... I went into his old bedroom. I broke into his safe. He kept a physical ledger. Passwords, crypto keys, the names of the shell companies. It's all in there."
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I looked at the journal, stunned. "Hugo... if I hand this over to the feds, Ryan will have no defense left. He will go to prison."
Hugo nodded slowly, a single tear escaping his eye. "He is a thief, Charlotte. He stole from the woman who gave us everything. And Janelle... she destroyed my soul. I spent my life upholding the law. I won't let my family mock it. Take it. Get your life back."
