Chapter 5 - The Collapse of the EmpireNathan snatched the legal documents from Edward's hand, his fingers trembling violently as he scanned the pages.
"Who the hell are you?!" Nathan shrieked, his voice cracking into a high, frantic pitch. "I'm Nathan Whitmore! I own Whitmore Commercial Real Estate! You can't do this to me!"
"My name is Edward Croft, senior partner at Vance, Sterling & Croft," Edward replied with a terrifying, shark-like smile. "I represent your wife, Caroline Vance-Whitmore... and her father, Arthur Vance."
Nathan blinked, confused. "Arthur Vance...? Her father is a retired legal clerk from Kentucky!"
Edward let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Arthur Vance is the founder of the largest corporate litigation firm in the Midwest, Mr. Whitmore. He owns sixty percent of the commercial debt notes in Franklin County. And he is currently sitting in his daughter's private suite at the Cleveland Clinic."
Nathan’s breath hitched in his throat. His knees buckled slightly, forcing him to grab the edge of the nurses' desk for support.
"Furthermore," Edward continued, pulling a second leather binder from his briefcase, "while you were spending the weekend at the Hocking Hills spa with Miss Vanessa Brooks, our forensic auditing team completed a deep review of Whitmore Commercial Real Estate."
Nathan’s eyes bulged in pure, unvarnished terror.
"You have systematically embezzled $1.4 million from your primary client trust accounts to fund your private club memberships, luxury vehicles, and Miss Brooks’s personal credit cards," Edward revealed deadpan. "The State Prosecutor's Office was served with our certified audit four minutes ago."
Before Nathan could speak, his smartphone erupted with a frantic, ringing chime.
It was Vanessa Brooks.
Nathan answered with a shaking hand, placing it on speaker in his panic.
"Nathan!" Vanessa shrieking hysterically through the speaker. "What is happening?! Two police cruisers just arrived at the country club! The board of directors just fired me, and the bank is executing a foreclosure freeze on the club's accounts! They said your firm defaulted on the mortgage!"
"Vanessa... wait—" Nathan stammered.
"Did you steal money from my club's trust account, Nathan?!" Vanessa screamed. "You ruined me! Don't ever call me again!"
The line went dead.
Nathan dropped his phone. The screen shattered against the hard hospital floor.
Two uniformed Columbus police officers stepped out from the main elevator bank, walking straight toward Nathan with heavy steel handcuffs drawn.
"Nathan Whitmore," Lead Officer Vance declared. "You are under arrest for Grand Embezzlement, Corporate Fraud, and Systemic Money Laundering."
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The cold steel cuffs locked tightly around Nathan’s wrists behind his back.
Nathan thrashed in his bonds, weeping pathetic, desperate tears as he was led past staring doctors, nurses, and patients toward the elevator in total, public disgrace, surrounded by Todd the photographer, who was frantically snapping photos of his arrest.
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