Chapter 5 - THE AUDITThree days later, the corporate offices of Pierce & Associates were officially raided by federal marshals and trust auditors.
I stood on the twentieth-floor executive balcony, watching boxes of files and computer towers being carried out to a fleet of federal vans parked on Madison Avenue.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text message from an unknown number: *Please, Emma. Drop the trust lawsuits. I'll sign the divorce papers on any terms you want. Just don't let them push for the maximum federal sentence.*
I looked down at the screen. I didn't type a reply. I simply blocked the number, feeling a massive, suffocating weight lift entirely off my shoulders.
The man who had tried to gaslight me into believing I was losing my mind was now sitting in a holding cell, realizing that no amount of smooth talking could talk his way out of federal prison.
Elias Monroe walked out onto the balcony, holding a thick leather portfolio.
"The asset seizure is complete, Mrs. Pierce," Elias reported, handing me a final summary sheet. "Every cent Nathaniel funneled into his offshore shell accounts has been frozen and repatriated back to the family trust. His personal bank accounts have been wiped to cover legal restitution."
"And the penthouse?" I asked.
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"The lease was in the trust's name all along," Elias smiled faintly. "He was renting his own lifestyle from your mother's estate without knowing it."
I looked down at the summary sheet. Every number was balanced. Every lie had been dismantled with cold, unyielding facts.
