Chapter 6 - What the Folder Revealed
After Anna opened the folder, James asked the remaining guests to leave the room.
Several board members refused.
Mark objected immediately.
“This is a private family matter.”
“No,” James replied. “This is corporate fraud.”
The words silenced everyone.
James displayed the bank records, false invoices, and sale contract. He played part of the recording from his phone.
Mark’s voice filled the room.
“Take the money, sign the agreement, and disappear until the twenty-sixth.”
Jessica sank into a chair.
Mark pointed at James. “He fabricated this because his wife chose me.”
James remained calm.
“The serial numbers on the cash match the withdrawal from North Star Advisory. The bank has already preserved the transaction records.”
Anna turned to Jessica.
“How much did you steal?”
Jessica began crying.
“I didn’t understand everything Mark was doing.”
“You signed the transfers.”
“He said the money would be returned after the sale.”
Mark stepped toward Anna.
“I was protecting the company. Your father left you a business you weren’t prepared to run.”
The cruelty of the statement struck harder than the affair.
Anna had worked beside her father since she was twenty-two. She understood every property, employee, and loan in the company.
Mark had spent years convincing her that his confidence was competence.
He mistook her trust for weakness.
“You planned to sell my family’s hotels,” Anna said.
“They’re old buildings losing value.”
“They’re profitable.”
“They could be worth more.”
“To you?”
Mark did not answer.
Anna closed the folder.
May you like
Then she looked at the board members standing near the fireplace.
“Call our attorneys. Freeze every account Mark can access.”
