My Mother-In-Law Pushed Me Down The Basement Stairs To Steal My Grandfather’s Lake House—Three Days Later, My Husband Moved Her In And Threw A Party, Never Knowing Article 14 Would Take Everything They Owned / Chapter 10 / 15

Chapter 10 - Colin’s Corporate Downfall and the Fraudulent Invoices

While Judith sat in a holding cell facing felony grand larceny and assault charges, Colin was released on fifty thousand dollars bail—money he had to borrow from a predatory bail bondsman because all his personal assets were frozen.

He returned to his North Dallas architectural office to find a padlock on the front doors.

The building landlord stood outside, holding a legal notice.

"You're locked out, Mercer," the landlord said coldly.

"What?! I pay five thousand a month for this suite!"

"Your business account was frozen yesterday by the probate court," the landlord replied, handing him a copy of the default judgment. "And your two junior partners, Dave and Greg, officially resigned this morning. They took all your corporate clients with them."

Colin fell to his knees on the sidewalk, clutching his head.

His entire world had evaporated in seventy-two hours. His firm was dead, his clients were gone, his reputation in the Dallas business community was permanently incinerated, and the mountain of legal debt was growing higher by the hour.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Marcus Vance for the twentieth time that day.

"Marcus... what do I have left?" Colin wheezed, his voice cracking with utter despair.

"You have nothing, Colin," Marcus said through the speaker. "The Thorne Trust just filed the complete audit of your 'home improvement' claims. They proved every invoice you submitted was forged. You used company expense accounts to pay for personal vacations in Cabo and Miami."