Chapter 28 - Marcus Takes Action
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For the rest of the weekend, Marcus transformed his home office into a war room. He was a man of immense focus and formidable connections, having spent years in private security and corporate investigations before our lives intertwined. While Maya and I tried to maintain a sense of normalcy by gardening in the backyard, I could hear the constant, low hum of Marcus making phone calls to his old colleagues and legal analysts.
Late Sunday evening, he finally emerged from his office, holding a stack of printed financial records and looking incredibly serious.
"I found the connection," Marcus announced, sitting down at the kitchen island where I was preparing dinner.
"Is it as bad as the letter claimed?" I asked, setting down my knife and giving him my full attention.
"It’s a bluff, but a highly sophisticated one," Marcus explained, spreading the documents across the marble counter. "Arthur Pendelton knows that Richard Sterling’s legal fees have completely drained his personal accounts. Pendelton is essentially working for free right now, hoping to secure a massive payout by liquidating the arts trust."
"But how can he claim the trust belongs to Richard?"
"Because Richard originally set up the foundation as a tax shelter ten years ago," Marcus pointed out, tapping a highlighted paragraph. "But here is the catch. When Richard was permanently sentenced, the federal government froze all his primary assets. Pendelton is arguing that the arts foundation was omitted from the federal seizure list due to a clerical error, making it fair game for the defense team to claim."
"So he is holding the entire summer exhibition hostage just to get a payout?" I asked, feeling a surge of absolute disgust.
"Exactly," Marcus nodded grimly. "If the foundation fights him in court, the legal fees will bankrupt the exhibition anyway. He expects them to settle out of court and cancel the event to save money."
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"We cannot let him do this to Maya," I said fiercely.
"We won't," Marcus agreed. "I just need to find the original charter document. If I can prove Richard transferred the trust before his arrest, Pendelton’s case completely falls apart."
