Chapter 4 - THE EMBEZZLEMENT TRAILThe tension in the living room was so thick it could be sliced with a knife. Eleanor looked from Vance to Julian, her chest heaving.
"Julian, tell me he's lying," Eleanor demanded, grabbing the lapel of his designer jacket. "Tell me this lunatic is lying about you! You're a wealthy man! We have millions in the offshore accounts! The Sterling Foundation—"
"The Sterling Foundation is bankrupt, Mrs. Sterling," Vance interrupted smoothly, pulling a thick leather-bound folder from his briefcase. He flipped it open and tossed several pages onto the glass coffee table. "In fact, it’s been bleeding cash for the last eighteen months. Not because of bad investments, but because your loving husband has been systematically draining every liquid asset to fund his high-stakes underground poker debts and his secret life in Monaco."
Eleanor snatched up the papers. Her eyes darted across bank statements, wire transfers, and corporate audits. Her breath caught in her throat. The numbers didn't make sense—they were in the red, deep into the millions.
"No... no, this is impossible," Eleanor whispered, dropping the papers. She turned her tear-filled eyes on Julian. "You told me our portfolio was secure! You said we were untouchable!"
Julian didn't look at her. He kept his eyes glued to the floor, his jaw clenched.
"He needed money, Eleanor," Vance explained, stepping closer. "Desperately. Last week, Lloyd's of London sent notice that they were auditing the diamond necklace you love so much for policy renewal. Julian realized that if they appraised it, they’d discover the original two-million-dollar diamond had been replaced with a synthetic cubic zirconia months ago. He hocked the real one to pay off a ruthless loan shark."
Maria stood by the doorway, watching the drama unfold, her jaw slightly slack. The pieces were finally clicking into place.
"So," Vance continued, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper, "he needed to make the necklace disappear permanently before the insurance adjuster arrived tomorrow morning. What’s the easiest way to make a multi-million-dollar item vanish and blame someone else? Frame the domestic help, trigger an insurance payout, and skip the country."
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"You don't have proof of that!" Julian snarled, finally finding his voice, though it lacked its usual authority. "Those papers are circumstantial! You broke into my house, Vance! I'll have you arrested for trespassing!"
Vance smiled, a shark-like grin that reached his eyes. "Trespassing? Julian, look at the screen behind you."
