An hour after the police arrived and took Sarah into custody for domestic assault and attempted financial fraud, David sat in his private office surrounded by heavy legal documents. The house was completely quiet now, the guests having left after offering their deep apologies and awkward condolences for the dramatic scene they had witnessed.
David's divorce lawyer, a sharp man named Arthur, sat across the large mahogany desk reviewing the prenuptial agreement and the complex terms of the late father's original will. Arthur flipped through several pages of financial statements before looking up at David with a very serious expression on his face.
Arthur: David, the fake pregnancy was only the tip of the iceberg in this situation. We just pulled her private bank records through an emergency court injunction.
David: What else could she have possibly done without my knowledge? She was living in my house for six months.
Arthur: Sarah wasn't working alone on this plan. She was receiving large monthly wire transfers from an offshore account registered in the Cayman Islands.
David leaned forward, placing his elbows on the cool wooden desk while his bruised cheek throbbed with a slow, steady ache that reminded him of her sharp blow. He stared at his lawyer, his mind trying to figure out who else could be pulling the strings behind his wife's elaborate deception.
David: Who owns the offshore account, Arthur? Tell me the name right now.
Arthur: The account belongs to your late father's former business manager, Marcus Vance. The man you fired three months ago for accounting irregularities.
David gasped aloud, the piece of the puzzle fitting into place with terrifying precision as he realized the full scale of the plot against his family estate. Marcus Vance had been managing the family accounts for over twenty years and knew every single detail about the trust fund rules and probate conditions.
Marcus had been quietly stealing small amounts of money from the real estate accounts for years before David discovered the missing funds and terminated his employment contract. Realizing he was about to lose access to the family fortune forever, Marcus had recruited Sarah to marry David quickly and fake the pregnancy to trigger the trust fund payout early.
Once the fifty million dollars was released from the court trust, Sarah was instructed to transfer half of the funds to Marcus's offshore accounts before filing for a quick divorce. They had planned to split the entire fortune, leaving David completely bankrupt and ruined while they fled the country together to avoid prosecution.
Arthur: If that little girl hadn't spotted the pillow in the closet tonight, the court would have signed off on the trust transfer within thirty days.
David: My whole life was about to be stolen by the people I trusted most in the world.
Arthur: We have enough evidence now to file full criminal charges for grand larceny, racketeering, and fraud against both Sarah and Marcus Vance immediately.
The door to the office opened quietly, and Richard walked inside holding two small glasses of cold water and a ice pack wrapped in a clean white towel. He handed the ice pack to his older brother, sitting down in the leather armchair beside the lawyer's desk with a look of genuine regret on his face.
Richard: I am so sorry I didn't fight harder to show you who she really was, David. I was so angry about the will that I made everything worse between us.
David: No, Richard. I was blinded by my own ego and my desire to keep control of the company. I should have trusted my own family instead of an outsider.