Chapter 7 - The Audit and The Secret
On Tuesday morning, Gwen sat in Diane Sterling’s sunlit office on the fourteenth floor of a Century City high-rise. Across the mahogany conference table sat Diane and Mark Lewis, a forensic accountant who looked like a retired chess grandmaster.
Mark slid a thick spiral-bound folder across the table toward Gwen.
“Your husband wasn't just living beyond his means, Mrs. Vance,” Mark said, tapping the documents with a silver pen. “He was actively running a personal Ponzi scheme using your assets.”
Gwen took a slow breath. “What did you find?”
“Brandon took out three separate personal loans using your joint checking account as collateral—loans he obtained by forging your digital signature on electronic authorization forms,” Mark explained. “Total borrowed: ninety-two thousand dollars.”
Gwen felt a cold drop in her stomach. “Where did the money go? He was always claiming he was broke.”
“It didn't go to rent or groceries,” Diane interjected, her eyes flashing with professional fury. “Mark traced the transfers. Brandon has been funding a private trading account where he was day-trading speculative tech options and losing heavily. But more importantly… look at tab four.”
Gwen flipped the page.
There were bank statements detailing recurring monthly charges to an apartment complex in Marina del Rey, along with thousands of dollars spent at high-end jewelers and women’s clothing boutiques that Gwen had never set foot in.
“Who is Chloe Martin?” Gwen asked, her voice dangerously calm.
“A twenty-six-year-old junior marketing coordinator Brandon hired two years ago,” Diane said. “He was paying the lease on her luxury two-bedroom apartment, telling her that he was an independently wealthy hedge fund manager going through an amicable separation from an emotionally distant wife.”
Gwen leaned back in her chair.
For eight years, she had skipped buying new winter coats to make sure Rosalind’s lawn was mowed and Heather had bridal gifts. She had eaten leftovers for lunch so Brandon could wear custom-tailored shirts to his client lunches. And the entire time, Brandon was playing the generous benefactor to a twenty-six-year-old mistress in Marina del Rey with money stolen from their marriage.
“Diane,” Gwen said, looking up. “Can Arthur Vance use this in his firm’s audit?”
A predatory smile touched the corners of Diane’s lips. “Arthur Vance’s legal team already called me yesterday afternoon. It turns out Brandon was using firm credit cards to pay for Chloe Martin’s weekend getaways to Cabo, claiming they were ‘investor conferences.’ Vance & Sterling is preparing a full criminal referral for corporate embezzlement and grand theft.”
“What about the forged loans in my name?” Gwen asked.
“Mark has already prepared the fraud affidavits for the banks,” Diane assured her. “Because your signature was forged electronically from an IP address originating at Brandon’s office computer while you were physically at work, the banks will discharge your liability entirely. Every cent of that debt falls squarely on Brandon Vance.”
Diane closed her folder and leaned across the table.
May you like
“Brandon thought he was going to walk away from this marriage with half the value of your grandmother’s house and spousal support because you earned freelance income. Instead, Gwen, we are going to leave him with nothing but his debts, a criminal indictment, and the clothes in those trash bags.”
***
