Chapter 7 - The Final AuditThe flashing lights from the police cruisers outside painted slow, rhythmic red-and-blue streaks across the high ceilings of the grand foyer.
Agent Marcus Vance lingered behind as the rest of the tactical team cleared the upper floors of the estate. He walked over to where I stood by the mahogany dining table, looking down at the half-eaten bowls of rigatoni sitting abandoned beside the empty black envelopes.
"Clean work, Audrey," Agent Vance said quietly, slipping a small notebook into his tactical vest. "Your father would have been proud. You didn't leave a single loophole."
"My father taught me that a good forensic accountant doesn't just look at the numbers," I replied, tracing a finger lightly along the polished edge of the mahogany table. "They look at the character of the people hiding behind them. Dominic and his family were arrogant. Arrogance always leaves a paper trail."
"What are your plans now?" Agent Vance asked, glancing around the sprawling, million-dollar estate that was now legally, completely, and irrevocably mine. "This property is seized as part of the asset forfeiture, but given that you filed the primary evidence and hold the prenuptial exemption clause..."
"The estate goes into liquidation," I interrupted smoothly. "And since I am the primary unsecured creditor holding the promissory notes on Dominic's corporate loans... I'll be buying it back at auction for pennies on the dollar."
A slow, appreciative grin spread across Agent Vance's face. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, Audrey."
"You're safe, Marcus," I smiled lightly. "You've always been one of the good ones."
With a final nod, Agent Vance turned and walked out the front doors, leaving me completely alone in the sprawling, echoing silence of the house.
I walked over to the dining room table, picked up Dominic's abandoned wineglass, and poured myself a fresh glass of Merlot. The rich, dark red liquid caught the light of the ten-thousand-dollar crystal chandelier overhead.
I raised the glass in a silent toast to the empty room.
May you like
"To new beginnings," I whispered.
Then, I took a long, slow sip. And for the first time in two years, the taste was nothing short of perfection.
