Chapter 2 - The Audit in the Shadows
Julian walked silently down the back service staircase of the estate, leaving Teresa and Leo in the private nursery on the third floor under the guard of his personal security detail.
Inside the small, oak-paneled study behind the main kitchen, David Miller was already seated behind Julian’s desk, a open laptop illuminating his sharp features. Beside him stood Marcus Vance, Julian’s younger brother and the chief financial officer of Sterling Developments.
"Tell me," Julian said, closing the study door behind him and locking it.
Marcus handed Julian a tablet displaying a live spreadsheet of personal expenditure accounts.
"We ran the preliminary sweep the moment David called me," Marcus said, his jaw tight with anger. "Victoria didn't just spend the allowance you gave her for the wedding decor, Julian. She’s been using the third-party procurement account for the Hamptons property to clear secondary transfers."
Julian leaned over the desk, his eyes scanning the columns of numbers. "Where was the money going?"
"To a limited liability company called Aegis Art Advisory," David explained, turning his laptop screen toward Julian. "Registered in Delaware four months ago. The sole officer listed on the corporate registration is a man named Richard Sterling—no relation to your firm. We ran his name through our background system. He’s an independent art dealer out of Miami, and according to bank transfer records, he’s also Victoria’s former fiancé."
Julian stared at the screen. The total amount transferred over the past ninety days reached six hundred and forty thousand dollars.
"She wasn't buying art for our home," Julian said softly.
"She was liquidating your capital and funneling it into an account she controls with him," Marcus confirmed, slamming his hand down on the arm of his chair. "The wedding wasn't a marriage, Julian. It was an acquisition. If you had signed that joint trust agreement after the ceremony today, she would have had direct legal access to forty percent of Sterling Developments' liquid reserves."
Julian stood upright. He walked over to the mirror hanging near the bookshelf and carefully re-adjusted his bowtie. His expression was serene, almost detached.
"Julian," David said cautiously, standing up from the desk. "We have the legal grounds to stop this immediately. I can step out into the hallway, announce to the guests that the event is canceled due to a legal dispute, and have private security escort Victoria off the property."
"No," Julian replied, turning around. "If we cancel it now, she walks out of here with the six hundred thousand dollars, hires a defense attorney, and claims she was simply managing art purchases for the estate. She will drag this through civil court for two years, and she will try to use Leo as leverage to secure a quiet settlement."
"Then what do you want to do?" Marcus asked.
Julian looked at his watch.
3:15 PM. The ceremony was scheduled for 3:30 PM.
"Her entire plan relies on public pressure," Julian said smoothly. "She believes that because I am a public figure, because my mother is sitting in the front row, and because one hundred and eighty of New York's most prominent developers are downstairs, I will comply with the schedule to avoid a scandal."
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He turned toward the door.
"Let her walk down the aisle," Julian said. "Let her face the room she built her lies for."
