Chapter 6 - The Fall of the House of RollinsBy Wednesday afternoon, the corporate execution was complete.
I sat in my home office, sipping herbal tea, watching the live financial news broadcast on my wall-mounted monitor. The ticker at the bottom of the screen flashed bold red headlines: SEC LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO ROLLINS & ASSOCIATES; ASSETS FROZEN AMID FRAUD ALLEGATIONS.
My phone buzzed relentlessly on the desk.
First, it was Amanda, calling from an unknown number, sobbing hysterically, begging me to call off the lawyers because Ryan had officially filed for divorce and locked her out of their bank accounts. I ignored it and blocked the number.
Then came the texts from Derek.
Olivia, please pick up the phone.
There's been a mistake. The frozen accounts—the bank says it's an administrative error!
Where are my corporate cards? They just declined at the pharmacy!
Liv, talk to me. We can work this out. I love you.
I stared at the screen, a bitter, humorless smile touching my lips. He loved me. He loved the safety net I provided, the social standing I afforded him, and the millions of dollars he stole from my family trust to fund his delusions of grandeur.
My phone rang again. Direct line.
It was Derek, calling from a payphone or a nurse's station at Mercy General, having finally been discharged from medical observation.
I swiped to answer and pressed the phone to my ear, remaining entirely silent.
"Olivia!" Derek's voice was panicked, breathless, stripped of all its corporate arrogance. "Thank God. Listen to me, someone has hacked our business accounts. The federal marshals just served a subpoena at the office. They're seizing the computers, the records, everything! You need to call your father's old contacts, use your family lawyers, do something!"
"There was no hack, Derek," I said, my voice cutting through his panic like a frozen razor blade.
Silence fell on the other end of the line. Heavy, disbelieving silence.
"What... what did you say?" he whispered.
"I said, there was no hack," I repeated calmly, leaning back in my leather chair. "I audited the books, Derek. I found the shell companies. I found the forged signatures on the trust documents. And most importantly... I found Dr. Harrison's lab report from five years ago regarding your congenital sterility."
A sharp, ragged gasp echoed through the receiver.
"You... you found the vault?" he choked out, his voice turning to a terrified squeak.
"Every single file," I replied smoothly. "For five years, you watched me blame myself for our inability to have children. You watched me endure hormone treatments and heartbreak, all while you knew you were sterile. You stole fourteen million dollars from my family trust, and you thought you could hide behind your CEO title while sleeping with my brother's wife."
"Liv... please," he sobbed, the sound pathetic and weak. "We can make a deal. I'll sign the divorce papers, you can take half the company—"
"You don't own half a company anymore, Derek," I interrupted. "Winslow-Rollins Holdings has been dissolved by court order. The building is being seized. Your personal credit score is zero. And by tomorrow morning, the federal prosecutor's office will have our complete forensic package on your desk."
"You... you ruined me," he whispered, pure venom bleeding through his terror. "You destroyed everything I built!"
"I didn't destroy anything, Derek," I said softly. "I simply stopped building your life for you. Enjoy the bottom."
May you like
I hit the red end-call button, turned off my cell phone, and tossed it onto the desk.
The house was dead silent. Outside, the autumn wind rustled the golden leaves against the windowpane. I walked over to the liquor cabinet, poured two fingers of aged bourbon into a heavy crystal glass, and walked out onto the back patio to watch the sun set over the lawn.
