Chapter 6 - The Auditor’s Revenge
The two men began walking through the rooms,
sticking small neon-orange labels on my TV,
my dining table,
and even my coffee machine.
Keaton was sitting on the floor now,
his head in his hands,
while Bernice was frantically texting on her phone.
"Austin isn't answering,"
she moaned,
"He was supposed to have the money today."
I watched them for a moment,
the shock finally settling into a cold,
hard diamond of fury.
I am a regional finance director,
I handle millions of dollars for a corporation.
I know how to find money,
and I know how to make people pay.
I walked into my home office and locked the door,
the sounds of the inventory team muffled by the heavy wood.
I sat at my computer and accessed the joint savings account Keaton and I still shared,
the one he claimed was empty.
I began a deep-dive audit of every transaction he had made in the last two years.
I saw the pattern immediately.
Small transfers,
always under five hundred dollars,
going to a shell company called 'Austin Management.'
Over two years,
he had funneled nearly forty thousand dollars into that account.
Then I checked Bernice’s medical history through the insurance portal I paid for.
There were no heart specialists.
There were no emergency dental surgeries.
The money I had sent her for 'medication' had been withdrawn as cash at an ATM near the local casino.
They hadn't just been helping Austin with a debt,
they had been financing a gambling addiction for the whole family.
I felt the betrayal settle deep into my marrow.
I picked up my phone and called our corporate legal team,
the ones who handled fraud.
"I need a criminal attorney and a private investigator,"
I said,
my voice clipping every word.
"I have a forgery case,
a power of attorney fraud,
and an embezzlement of marital assets."
I then called the bank that had issued the lien.
"I am Elena Miller,"
I told the manager.
"The power of attorney used for the loan on my property is a forgery."
"I am filing a police report as we speak."
"If you proceed with the seizure of my assets,"
"I will sue your institution for gross negligence in verifying signatures."
The manager's tone shifted instantly to one of stuttering concern.
I walked back into the living room,
where the men were about to label my bed.
"Stop,"
I said,
my voice echoing like a gavel.
"The loan is under investigation for fraud."
"You will leave this house immediately,
or you will be charged with trespassing."
The men looked at each other,
May you like
then at the fire in my eyes.
They began peeling off the labels.
