Chapter 5 - The First Strike
The next morning brought a clear sky,
but the atmosphere inside the Wright mansion remained tense.
Ethan sat at the long mahogany dining table,
surrounded by legal documents and laptops.
I sat opposite him,
sipping warm tea while my son slept soundly in a bassinet nearby.
"Eleanor has already filed for an emergency custody injunction,"
Ethan stated,
sliding a paper across to me.
"She is claiming that you are mentally unstable and unfit to care for the child."
I looked at the document,
feeling a familiar surge of cold,
analytical anger.
"She is using the same lawyer who froze my bank accounts,"
I noted,
my forensic mind taking over.
"Marcus Vance,
Julian's uncle,
who specializes in hiding family assets."
Ethan smiled,
clearly impressed by my quick observation.
"You haven't lost your edge as an auditor,
Vivian."
"Not at all,"
I replied,
setting my teacup down with a sharp click.
"In fact,
I have something they don't know about."
I pulled out the small manila folder I had kept hidden under my old mattress.
I laid out the printed emails and server logs onto the polished wood table.
"This is five years of internal communication between Eleanor and Julian,"
I explained.
"It details every single shell company they used to siphon money from the Meridian building."
"They didn't just steal from me,
Ethan,
they stole hundreds of millions from Wright Enterprises."
Ethan picked up the pages,
his eyes scanning the numbers with rapid intensity.
"This is incredible,"
he breathed,
a look of genuine triumph crossing his face.
"They used a cleaning supply company called Apex Solutions to launder the cash."
"Exactly,"
I nodded,
leaning forward.
"And as a night cleaner,
I had direct access to their supply inventory and delivery invoices."
"Every box of soap they ordered was billed at ten times its actual market value."
"The extra money went straight into an offshore account in the Cayman Islands."
Suddenly,
the sound of a loud commotion echoed from the front gates of the estate.
Ethan's security chief walked into the room,
his face expressionless but alert.
"Sir,
the police are at the gate with a court order,"
he reported.
"They have Julian Vance and a social worker with them."
I stood up instantly,
my hands shaking as I reached for my sleeping son.
"They're trying to take him,"
I gasped,
panic rising in my chest.
"They won't touch him,"
Ethan said,
standing up and buttoning his suit jacket.
"Vivian,
stay here with the guards."
"Alan,
come with me to the front door."
I watched from the large window as Ethan walked down the long driveway to meet them.
Julian was there,
looking smug in a fresh suit,
flanked by two police officers.
Eleanor sat inside a parked limousine behind them,
watching through the tinted glass window.
Ethan didn't open the gates,
he simply stood behind the iron bars like a stone wall.
He held up a single piece of paper,
showing it to the police officers.
Even from a distance,
I could see the officers look at each other in surprise.
They spoke into their radios,
then turned to Julian and shook their heads.
Julian began to shout,
gesturing wildly toward the house,
his face contorted in rage.
But the officers ignored him,
turning around and walking back to their cruiser.
Ethan walked back to the house,
his expression entirely calm and victorious.
"What did you show them?"
I asked as he re-entered the room.
"A federal protective order,"
Ethan smiled,
gently patting my shoulder.
"As of five minutes ago,
this estate is under federal jurisdiction due to an active corporate fraud investigation."
May you like
"The local police have no power here,
and Julian is officially a prime suspect."
