Chapter 6 - THE FINANCIAL AUDIT
While Martha sat in a jail cell awaiting her trial, the financial fallout from Judge Vance’s forensic audit hit like a category five hurricane.
Three days after the bail hearing, Nick and I were invited to Judge Vance’s law office on the top floor of the Chase Tower downtown. The room was lined with floor-to-ceiling leather books, and large glass windows offered a sweeping view of Lake Michigan.
Judge Vance sat behind a massive mahogany desk, reviewing a stack of financial ledgers alongside a team of forensic accountants.
“Sit down, Nicholas, Clara,” Judge Vance said, gesturing to two leather armchairs.
“What did the audit find, Richard?” Nick asked as we sat down.
Judge Vance pushed a thick folder across the desk. “It’s worse than I anticipated. Over the past four years, your mother embezzled over three hundred and eighty thousand dollars from the Vance-Moreau Charitable Foundation.”
I gasped. “Nearly four hundred thousand dollars?”
“How did she even access that money?” Nick asked, his jaw tight.
“Through my ex-wife, Evelyn,” Judge Vance explained grimly. “Evelyn had co-signing authority on the foundation’s community outreach fund. Martha convinced Evelyn to approve false grants to non-existent educational charities. In reality, that money was funneled directly into shell accounts Martha created to pay off massive debts at casinos in Hammond, Indiana.”
Nick put his head in his hands, letting out a heavy groan. “She’s a gambling addict.”
“A chronic one,” Judge Vance confirmed. “And when the foundation’s annual audit approached this fall, Martha panicked. She knew I would discover the missing funds. So she made a deal with Evelyn: if Evelyn helped cover up the stolen funds using her personal accounts, Martha would force you, Nick, to marry Julianna Vance—giving Evelyn access to Julianna’s trust fund to repay the foundation.”
The full scope of Martha’s insanity finally made sense.
She hadn't just hated me because I was "poor." She hated me because my presence destroyed her grand scheme to escape prison. If Nick married me, Martha couldn't access the Vance fortune, her embezzlement would be exposed, and she would lose everything.
“What happens to Evelyn?” I asked.
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“Evelyn has agreed to resign from the foundation board and repay her share of the funds to avoid prosecution,” Judge Vance said. “As for Martha? The grand jury is indicting her on federal grand larceny and wire fraud charges on Friday. She won't just be facing state charges for assault, Nicholas. She is looking at ten to fifteen years in federal prison.”
Nick looked up, his eyes steady. “Let the law handle her, Richard. She made her choices.”
