Chapter 3 - The Audit
Dominic was removed from Saint Aurelia, but that was only the beginning.
Within twenty-four hours, my grandfather’s attorneys discovered that he had transferred nearly eight hundred thousand dollars from accounts connected to his company.
Some went to an apartment for Natalie.
Some paid for jewelry, vacations, and private dining memberships.
The most serious payments went to shell companies controlled by Dominic’s cousin.
Those companies had billed hospitals for medical equipment that was either overpriced, defective, or never delivered.
Saint Aurelia was not the only victim.
Dominic had built his success by exploiting institutions that trusted his marriage to me.
He often mentioned that his wife had “family connections in medicine,” allowing clients to assume I had endorsed him.
I had never authorized him to use my name.
The audit expanded.
Suppliers began calling.
Investors withdrew.
One of Dominic’s executives agreed to cooperate after learning he might be blamed for fraudulent invoices.
Meanwhile, Dominic attempted to repair his reputation.
He sent flowers to my room.
I refused them.
He sent messages claiming Natalie had manipulated him.
I saved every one.
Then he came to court requesting access to the twins.
Not because he loved them.
Because his attorney had warned him that publicly abandoning premature children would destroy his defense.
At the first custody hearing, Dominic arrived wearing a dark suit and the expression of a grieving father.
“I made mistakes,” he told the judge. “But Audrey’s family is using money to separate me from my children.”
My attorney placed his signed divorce agreement before the court.
The judge read the section where Dominic had demanded no custody and minimal responsibility.
Then she reviewed his messages.
One said the twins would ruin his life.
Another said he hoped I would remain hospitalized until the divorce was completed.
The judge looked over her glasses.
“You are asking this court to believe your paternal devotion appeared at the exact moment your financial fraud became public?”
Dominic’s face reddened.
His request was denied.
He received only supervised visitation, dependent on medical approval.
He attended once.
Liam’s monitor sounded while a nurse adjusted his feeding tube. Dominic turned pale, complained that the unit made him uncomfortable, and left after seven minutes.
He never returned.
Natalie’s loyalty ended almost as quickly.
She contacted my attorney and offered information in exchange for protection from civil action.
She admitted Dominic had promised her the medical company, the apartment, and a luxury life financed by money he claimed belonged entirely to him.
She also revealed that he had instructed her to send the photograph of the coat.
“He wanted Audrey emotionally unstable before she signed,” Natalie confessed.
I listened to the recording without anger.
Natalie had been cruel, but Dominic had chosen her because cruelty was useful to him.
I agreed not to pursue the coat or minor personal property.
I did not protect her from the consequences of helping him hide corporate money.
She eventually returned every gift purchased through company accounts and moved back to her hometown before her baby was born.
Dominic blamed me for everything.
In his final message, he wrote:
You destroyed the father of your children.
May you like
I replied only once.
You destroyed yourself. I stopped hiding the evidence.
