Chapter 10 - The Hidden Assets
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Eleanor Vance called Clara on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, her tone sharp and urgent.
“Clara, I need you to come to my office immediately,” Eleanor commanded. “My forensic accountants found something. And it changes everything.”
Clara left Violet with a trusted babysitter and drove downtown. When she walked into Eleanor’s glass-walled office, the attorney was standing over a massive table covered in complex financial spreadsheets.
“What is it, Eleanor? Did Gabriel hide more money?” Clara asked, taking a seat.
“He didn't just hide marital assets, Clara,” Eleanor said grimly, tapping a red pen against a highlighted document. “He stole from his own daughter.”
Clara frowned, leaning forward to look at the papers. “I don't understand.”
“Violet’s biological mother, Sarah, came from a very wealthy family,” Eleanor explained. “When she passed away five years ago, she left a massive trust fund solely in Violet’s name, intended for her education and living expenses. Gabriel was named the sole trustee until Violet turned eighteen.”
“He stole Violet’s money?” Clara gasped, her stomach churning with disgust.
“He drained it,” Eleanor confirmed angrily. “Over the last three years, Gabriel systematically funneled nearly three million dollars out of Violet’s trust fund and transferred it into the Cayman Islands shell corporation. He used his daughter’s inheritance to buy Samantha Drake diamond jewelry, luxury cars, and that penthouse in River North.”
Clara stared at the documents, tears of absolute fury burning in her eyes. It was one thing for Gabriel to cheat on her. It was another thing entirely to try and poison her. But to steal millions from his own traumatized, grieving child to fund his mistress’s lavish lifestyle was a level of pure, sociopathic evil she couldn't even comprehend.
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“Can we get it back?” Clara demanded, her voice turning to steel.
“We already did,” Eleanor smiled, a fierce, predatory grin. “With the evidence Samantha provided in her plea deal, the feds seized the offshore accounts this morning. The money is being returned to Violet’s trust, with you listed as the new permanent trustee. But this evidence adds grand larceny and wire fraud to Gabriel’s criminal trial.”
