Part 3: The Broken Ledger
“Tell me what?” Adrian demanded, annoyance creeping into his tone.
“Thirty minutes ago, the board of directors at Northstar Medical convened an emergency midnight session,” Evelyn said, holding up her glowing phone. “Claire’s grandfather’s trust executed its voting majority. Your executive title has been stripped, your corporate accounts have been frozen for grand embezzlement, and the board has authorized a full forensic audit into the two million dollars you quietly transferred into Vanessa’s private account last spring.”
Vanessa gasped, her smug demeanor instantly shattering. “What?! She can’t do that! That money was for the babies’ trust!”
“It was Northstar’s capital!” Evelyn snapped, rounding on Vanessa with pure venom before turning back to her son. “And the house on the hill? The lake property? The deeds were never in your name, Adrian. The trust owned them. Claire allowed you to live there out of love. The eviction notices were filed at 9:00 PM tonight.”
Adrian felt the air leave his lungs. “No… no! The divorce papers I gave her—”
“The papers you printed off the internet?” Evelyn let out a harsh, broken laugh. “They aren’t legally binding against an institutional trust, Adrian! She signed them to end the marriage, but she didn’t waive her right to prosecute you for stealing from her family’s firm!”
Adrian stumbled back against the desk, panic finally clawing at his throat. “It doesn’t matter,” he stammered, grabbing the handles of the car seats. “I still have my family. I have my boys. We’ll start over. I’m a father now—”
“You aren’t a father, Adrian,” Evelyn sobbed, covering her face with her trembling hands. “You can’t be a father.”
