Chapter 5 - The Exposé
I walked purposefully toward Richard Vance, who had stopped mingling and was now watching us with deep concern.
"Clara, my dear, it is a surprise to see you here without Justin," Richard said warmly, though his eyes darted nervously to my brothers.
"Richard, I need five minutes of your time in private," I requested respectfully.
"It is a matter of urgent corporate security regarding a massive financial liability within your executive team."
Richard's friendly demeanor instantly vanished, replaced by the sharp, ruthless instincts of a highly successful CEO.
He nodded once and led us toward a private VIP boardroom just off the main ballroom floor.
Justin tried to follow us inside, but Luke smoothly stepped in his way and firmly shut the heavy oak doors right in his face.
Once inside the soundproof room, I did not waste any time with pleasantries or dramatic emotional speeches.
I reached into my designer clutch and pulled out a neatly bound dossier compiled by Mark and Luke.
"Richard, my husband has been having an affair with Vanessa Cárdenas for over eight months," I began calmly.
Richard sighed heavily, looking disappointed but not entirely surprised by the personal moral failing.
"Clara, I am terribly sorry for your heartbreak, but the company cannot legally get involved in marital disputes," he explained gently.
"You misunderstand me, Richard," I replied, sliding the heavy dossier across the polished mahogany table.
"I am not here about the affair; I am here about the four million dollars they have successfully embezzled from your company."
Richard froze completely, all the color draining rapidly from his aged face.
He grabbed the folder with shaking hands and began eagerly flipping through the meticulously highlighted bank statements and contract kickbacks.
His eyes widened as he saw the direct money transfers from Vanessa's PR firm into Justin's hidden offshore accounts.
"Good God," Richard whispered, his voice trembling with absolute, unadulterated fury.
"He has been inflating the marketing budgets by nearly three hundred percent and pocketing the massive difference."
"We verified the offshore account numbers this morning," Luke added, leaning forward professionally.
"Justin was planning to wire the entire sum to a non-extradition country by next Friday."
Richard closed the folder forcefully, his jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might shatter.
"I built this company from the ground up, and I treated that boy like my own son," Richard growled angrily.
He picked up the phone on the conference table and immediately dialed his head of corporate security.
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"Lock down the building, call the local police department, and send four guards to my location immediately," Richard ordered coldly.
The trap had successfully been sprung, and there was absolutely no escape for Justin now.
