Chapter 2 - The Audit of the EmpireBy 1:00 AM, the quiet suburban street outside our Lake Forest mansion was illuminated by the flashing red and blue lights of two police cruisers and a private ambulance.
Vanessa was strapped into a gurney, a plastic oxygen mask covering her face as paramedics monitored her vitals. The preliminary field test conducted by forensics confirmed the presence of Rohypnol and a concentrated liquid sedative—a combination that, mixed with alcohol, would have rendered me completely unconscious for twelve hours and wiped my short-term memory.
Detective Cole Miller—a broad-shouldered investigator with graying hair who had worked alongside me on dozens of criminal prosecutions—stood in the foyer, holding a evidence bag containing the sealed ziplock pouch and the silver spoon.
"The evidence is clean, Claire," Detective Miller said quietly, looking at me with deep respect and sympathy. "The powder sample is secured, and the dining room surveillance footage you provided from your hidden security drive shows her tilting the packet directly into your glass."
Daniel sat on the leather sofa in the living room, flanked by two uniformed officers. His head was buried in his hands, his expensive suit rumpled, his million-dollar corporate image completely shattered.
"Detective," Daniel rasped out, looking up with bloodshot eyes. "It was a joke! A prank! Vanessa just wanted to... to loosen her up for the dinner!"
"Dropping a Schedule IV controlled substance into someone's drink without their consent is a felony, Mr. Vance," Detective Miller corrected flatly. "It carries a mandatory sentence of up to eight years in state prison. And given that you were standing two feet away asking if it was 'enough,' you are currently being named as a primary co-conspirator to Attempted Poisoning and Aggravated Assault."
Daniel’s face turned an ugly, paper-white shade of green. "Co-conspirator?! No! I didn't touch the glass! I didn't buy the powder!"
"We'll see about that when we pull your private text messages and bank records, Daniel," I stepped forward, pulling a thick leather binder from my briefcase, tossing it flat onto the glass coffee table right in front of him.
CRASH!
Daniel flinched. "What... what is this?"
"That is the forensic audit of our joint accounts and Vance Logistics, Daniel," I revealed, my voice ringing with absolute, unshakeable authority. "Over the last fourteen months, you have embezzled four point two million dollars from corporate reserves to buy Vanessa a penthouse in downtown Chicago, a luxury sports car, and three offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands."
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The two uniformed officers looked at each other, stepping closer to Daniel.
"You didn't just ruin our marriage, Daniel," I added, looking down at the man I had loved for seven years. "You committed grand larceny against your own board of directors."
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