Chapter 6 - The Sister’s Liquidation — "The $12,000 Luxury Office That Was Sold to Pay a 10-Percent Interest Penalty!"
The fallout from the Carter family collapse was swift, brutal, and thoroughly cataloged in the local business journals.
By Monday morning, Brittany’s luxury event planning office in downtown Atlanta—a 2,000-square-foot space lined with industrial glass and gold-leaf light fixtures—was locked down with red enforcement tape from the county revenue department. Because she had defaulted on both the primary bridge loan and the local merchant credit accounts, her business assets were put up for immediate public liquidation.
I stood in the center of the empty office space, watching an auctioneer list her designer furniture to a room full of bargain hunters and liquidation specialists.
The Liquidated Assets of Brittany Carter EventsItem NumberAsset DescriptionOriginal Credit CostAuction Sale PriceItem 102Custom Italian Marble Conference Table$14,500.00$1,200.00Item 10924-Karat Gold Plated Desk Chairs (Set of 6)$6,200.00$450.00Item 115Luxury Espresso Station with Smart Technology$3,800.00$200.00
Brittany stood near the back exit, flanked by a public defender who looked like he had sixty other cases to handle before lunch. She was wearing a plain gray sweatshirt, her signature blonde waves pulled back into a messy, unwashed ponytail. Her perfect manicured nails were gone, bitten down to the quick.
"You like this, don't you?" she muttered as I walked past her toward the exit, holding a small box containing her company's original, legally seized corporate seal—the only item I had purchased from the auction block for exactly twenty dollars.
"I don't feel anything, Brittany," I said honestly, looking down at her. "For twelve years, I thought I was the one who was missing something. I thought if I just worked harder, if I saved more, if I became more successful, Mom and Dad would finally look at me the way they looked at you. But standing here watching your life be sold off for ten cents on the dollar, I realize I didn't miss a thing. I was the only one who was actually building a foundation."
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"I have a court date next month, Claire," she whimpered, her southern-belle confidence completely broken now, leaving behind nothing but a terrified child. "Julian’s lawyer says he’s going to turn state’s evidence against me to reduce his sentence. They’re saying I’m the primary actor because my name is on the Delaware registration. I’m facing five years, Claire. Five years in a federal facility."
"Then I suggest you learn how to clean your own room, Brittany," I said softly, turning my back on her. "Because there won't be any insurance policies left to save you where you're going."
