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MY HUSBAND WATCHED HIS MISTRESS RUIN MY WHITE GOWN—TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE I RECEIVED THE BIGGEST AWARD OF MY LIFE / Chapter 4 / 10

Chapter 4 - The Midnight AuditBy 1:00 AM, the gala had ended, but my work had just begun.

While the story of my speech exploded across local news channels and social media, I sat inside the emergency board room of Harbor House alongside Maya, Evelyn Grant, and our organization's lead forensic accountant, Marcus Vance.

On the glass conference table sat three thick binders containing every financial transaction handled by Daniel’s law firm, Blake & Associates, over the past two years.

"He was sloppy, Serena," Marcus said, tapping his pen against a spreadsheet on his laptop screen. "Because he assumed you would never look at the secondary escrow ledgers, he didn't even bother creating sophisticated shell companies. C&D Holdings was registered directly under Camille’s social security number and Daniel’s corporate tax ID."

"How much did they take?" I asked, my voice cold and calm as I cradled a mug of hot tea.

"Four hundred and twenty thousand dollars over fourteen months," Marcus revealed. "They were using Harbor House’s capital development fund to pay for Camille’s luxury apartment, her lease on a sports car, and Daniel’s personal gambling debts at the casino downtown."

Maya slammed her hand onto the table. "That money was supposed to fund twenty new beds for the emergency winter shelter! He belongs in a federal prison!"

"He's going to one," Evelyn said smoothly, taking a sip of water. "I spoke with the State Attorney General twenty minutes ago. Given the high-profile nature of your speech tonight and the mountain of physical evidence, a special prosecutor has already been assigned to the case. Warrants for Daniel and Camille’s arrest will be signed by eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

My phone, resting on the glass table, began vibrating violently.

Caller ID: Daniel.

He had been calling every ten minutes since the security team ejected him from the gala venue.

I picked up the phone, swiped the screen, and placed it on speaker.

"Serena!" Daniel’s voice burst through the speaker, hysterical, strained, and panting as if he were running. "Serena, you have to retract what you said on stage! The press is standing outside my office building! The managing partners at my firm just froze my email access!"

"Hello, Daniel," I said, my tone completely flat.

"Are you insane?!" he screamed through the phone. "You ruined my life! You ruined everything I've built over ten years over a stupid dress and a minor financial transfer that I was going to pay back!"

"It wasn't a minor transfer, Daniel," I replied. "It was four hundred and twenty thousand dollars. It was felony embezzlement, wire fraud, and grand larceny."

"I did it for us!" he lied desperately, his voice cracking. "I was trying to build equity so we could buy the estate in the suburbs! Camille manipulated me! She threatened to tell you about the affair if I didn't give her access to those accounts!"

In the background of the call, I heard Camille’s shrill voice screaming at him: "Don't you dare blame this on me, you pathetic coward! You stole that money because you were broke!"

A soft, dry laugh escaped my lips. "You two sound wonderful together, Daniel. You deserve every second of the next ten years you're going to spend sharing a court-appointed lawyer."

"Serena, please!" Daniel begged, weeping openly now. "Don't do this to me! I'm your husband! I love you!"

"You stood by and watched a woman pull my hair and ruin my dress, Daniel," I said softly. "You stopped being my husband the second you decided my dignity was negotiable. Goodbye."

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I hung up the phone, removed his contact card, and permanently blocked his number.

I looked across the table at Marcus. "Issue the full financial audit to the Attorney General's office. Let's finish this."

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Chapter 5 - The Morning RaidAt 8:15 AM the following morning, the crisp autumn air was shattered by the sound of sirens blaring outside Daniel’s luxury apartment complex downtown.
Chapter 6 - The Frozen AssetsThe fall of Daniel Blake was swift, total, and merciless.
Chapter 7 - The Lobby ConfrontationWhen I stepped out of the elevator into the marble lobby of the legal building, Daniel looked like a ghost of the man I had married.
Chapter 8 - The Trial of TruthThree months later.
Chapter 9 - Rebuilding the SanctuarySix months after the trial.
Chapter 10 - The Unstained SilkOne year later.

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