Chapter 3 - The Audit of the EmpireAt 9:00 AM on Monday morning, the executive boardroom on the fiftieth floor of Moretti Holdings in downtown Chicago was packed with thirty board members, senior investors, and corporate legal teams.
Vincent sat at the head of the long mahogany table. He had not slept in four days. Dark circles hollowed his cheekbones, his eyes were bloodshot, and his broad shoulders slouched beneath his charcoal suit.
"Gentlemen," Vincent began, his voice raspy and hollow. "We are here to discuss the Q3 expansion into the Jersey docks—"
BOOM!
The heavy double glass doors of the boardroom were thrown open with a sharp, echoing thud.
Stepping into the room, flanked by four broad-shouldered private security operators in dark suits, was my lead corporate litigation attorney: Bridget Colton.
Behind her walked two Senior Special Agents from the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and Lead Prosecutor Rachel Hayes from the United States Attorney’s Office.
Vincent jumped out of his chair, his hands shaking as he gripped the desk. "Bridget?! What is the meaning of this?!"
Bridget Colton didn't flinch. She walked straight up to his desk and tossed a thick leather binder bound by bright red judicial seals flat onto the mahogany wood.
"Vincent Moretti," Bridget announced, her voice booming clearly through the room. "You have been officially served with an Emergency Petition for Absolute Divorce, a Master Asset Restraint Order, and a Petition for Immediate Judicial Audit on behalf of Mrs. Claire Bennett Moretti."
The entire boardroom erupted into frantic whispering.
Vincent went completely paper-white. "Asset restraint?! Half of Moretti Holdings is registered under my personal name!"
"And sixty percent of your primary parent holding companies were underwritten by the Bennett Family Heritage Trust seven years ago when you married my client," Bridget corrected with a razor-sharp, freezing smile. "Under Section 14 of your prenuptial agreement, if you engage in gross marital misconduct resulting in severe physical harm to my client, Claire retains the absolute right to execute an immediate 100% equity recall of all joint assets."
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Vincent’s jaw sagged open in total, speech-bound horror. "Equity recall...?! She... she took my firm?!"
"She didn't just take your firm, Mr. Moretti," Prosecutor Rachel Hayes stepped forward, pulling a digital tablet from her jacket. "She also provided federal authorities with complete, unredacted financial logs proving that you transferred eleven million dollars of corporate reserves to fund illegal off-ledger gambling facilities in Florida."
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