Chapter 2 - The Audit and the Alias
Within twenty minutes, blue and red lights painted the urgent-care windows in harsh, flashing strokes. Two police officers entered, flanked by paramedics readying a full spinal immobilization board.
While Clara was carefully strapped down, her neck braced to prevent further trauma, Officer Vance approached the adults. He looked at Margot’s twitching fingers and Arthur’s pale, sweat-slicked face.
“Who owns the phone that was confiscated?” Officer Vance asked, holding up Margot’s device in an evidence bag.
“It’s mine,” Margot lied instantly. “She’s framing me. Check the cloud account—it’s registered to me.”
Clara tilted her head against the foam blocks, her voice clear and cutting through the sterile room. “Officer, check the call logs. Look at the blocked number that called Dad’s phone five minutes before dinner. That’s not a family dispute. That’s a corporate liquidator.”
Margot froze. The color drained entirely from her face, leaving her skin the gray of wet cement.
Officer Vance unlocked the phone using the biometric scan of Margot’s own hand while she was held back by an orderly. He swiped open the encrypted messaging app. His eyes widened as he scanned a thread between Margot and a man named Julian Vance—no relation—who was the chief financial officer of Arthur’s architectural firm.
“Mr. Winchester,” the officer said, turning to Arthur. “Do you know who Julian Vance is?”
Arthur blinked, confused. “He’s my lead CFO. Why?”
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“Because according to these texts,” the officer read aloud, “your wife has been systematically draining your corporate accounts into the college fund account—and then transferring them to an offshore shell corporation under her son’s name. The college fund doesn't just belong to Clara. It’s entirely funded by embezzled corporate capital.”
The room went dead silent. Arthur looked from the police officer to his wife, the realization hitting him like a physical blow. The money Margot was so desperate to seize wasn't just a matter of domestic greed; it was the stolen skeleton key to his entire livelihood.
