Chapter 16 - The Empire Crumbles
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And the baby shower gifts were not an isolated act of petty greed.
The audit revealed that Lucinda had been quietly stealing items from Natalie’s home for months. Expensive jewelry, antique family silver, custom furniture, art supplies, and even a small collection of vintage baby clothes Natalie had purchased privately. Some items were sold for quick cash. Others were bizarrely stored in Lucinda’s private office. She had treated Natalie’s personal possessions as though they inherently belonged to the Wexford estate, simply because Natalie had married into the family.
When the board officially removed Cole as chief executive officer, he furiously accused everyone else of betrayal. When the furious lenders officially called in the loans, he blamed me. When the state financial review began, Lucinda hysterically blamed Natalie.
But their world had been built on a lie far too large to survive the daylight of a forensic audit.
By the end of the week, Wexford Holdings filed for emergency corporate restructuring. By the end of the month, Cole’s luxury penthouse lease was abruptly terminated because the company had been paying for it through a frozen corporate account. By the end of the season, Lucinda’s prestigious foundation was under intense federal investigation for grossly misused charitable funds.
The wealthy family that had treated Natalie like a disposable servant was now forced to answer brutal questions from investigators who no longer cared about their polished, aristocratic image.
Yet, I did not feel a profound sense of joy watching them collapse. I felt immense relief. There was a significant difference. I did not actively want them homeless or broken. I simply wanted them entirely unable to hurt anyone ever again.
Mara efficiently arranged a strict protective order for Natalie. Cole was not barred forever from his child’s life, but he was legally required to stay completely away from Natalie during the remainder of the pregnancy and complete a rigorous, court-ordered evaluation before any future decisions about contact could even be discussed.
Lucinda was explicitly prohibited from accessing the Hartwell trust, Natalie’s accounts, or any gifts connected to the baby. The court also ordered the immediate recovery of the stolen items from her office.
But Natalie did not care most about the money or the expensive silver. She wanted the handmade quilt. She wanted the moon-shaped mobile her best friend had crafted. She wanted the small stack of tiny books that had been hidden in Lucinda’s office.
And she desperately wanted her name back. Not her maiden name. Not her married name. Her own name.
May you like
Natalie Hartwell.
She began writing it again at the bottom of legal documents. Slowly at first. Carefully. As though she were literally learning how to sign her own life back into existence.
