Chapter 6 - The Audit and the Attorney
The morning sun broke through the gray Boston clouds, casting pale, cold light across the glass and steel facade of Marston Real Estate Development on the fortieth floor of the Financial District tower. I sat across the polished mahogany conference table from Evelyn Vance, my divorce attorney and former college roommate, who was briskly flipping through a thick binder filled with bank statements, forged authorization forms, and digital audit logs.
Evelyn looked up over her tortoiseshell glasses, a look of grim professional respect in her sharp hazel eyes. "Julianna, I have to hand it to you. Most spouses in your position spend six months crying in a counselor's office before they realize they’re being bled dry. You managed to lock down his liquidity pools before he even finished swiping the card."
"Anger is a remarkably efficient motivator, Evelyn," I said, sipping my black coffee while watching the morning traffic crawl across the bridge far below. "How bad is the financial damage across the board?"
Evelyn tapped a finger against a printed spreadsheet detailing Caleb’s offshore accounts. "It’s worse than you thought. He didn't just drain your mother’s two-million-dollar inheritance. Over the last fourteen months, he took out three separate high-interest commercial loans using your personal trust as collateral without your knowledge or notarized consent. That isn't just civil fraud, Julianna. That’s felony wire fraud and forgery."
The conference room door swung open without warning. Caleb rushed into the room, looking disheveled, his suit jacket wrinkled, his hair unbrushed. Two men in dark suits stood just outside the glass doors, holding leather portfolios and identifying badges from the state financial regulatory commission.
"Julianna, you have to call them off," Caleb gasped, grabbing the edge of the table and leaning toward me with wild, frantic eyes. "The state commission just walked into my office with a freeze order. They’re auditing every ledger, every contract, every account. If they pull the files on the waterfront project, my entire firm goes under, and I’m looking at federal indictment!"
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"Then I suggest you cooperate with the investigators, Mr. Marston," Evelyn said smoothly, not even blinking as she slid a formal notice of representation across the table toward him. "Because as of five minutes ago, Julianna has filed for an emergency emergency asset freeze and a complete legal separation with fault-based grounds for financial devastation and adultery."
Caleb stared at the document as if it were a death sentence. The boyish charm, the warm smile, the easy confidence that had carried him through boardrooms and charity galas for over a decade were completely gone, replaced by the shivering, hollow reality of a man who had finally run out of lies to tell.
