The Call That Destroyed My Father Chapter 06
“Diane Warren! How long are you going to keep dragging this out?” He slammed his briefcase onto the sofa. “The company is about to collapse, and you still don’t have the deed ready?”
My mother didn’t even lift her head.
“What’s the rush? The house is in both our names. If we refinance, I have to sign in person
anyway.”
“I haven’t been feeling well the past couple of days. I can’t go.”
My father pointed at her, too angry to speak.
I listened from my room.
My father took several deep breaths.
!
“Diane, I know you’re still angry about Serena. But that’s separate from this. If the company goes under, we lose everything.”
My mother set down the green beans in her hands and wiped them with a paper towel.
“Richard.” She looked up at him. “Doesn’t the company still have over $1,000,000 in working capital? How can you not have enough for next month’s vendor payments?”
My father’s expression changed instantly.
“Who told you that?” His eyes darted away. “That money was put into the new project long ago. We can’t get it out right now.”
“Is that so?” My mother smiled. “I thought you used it to buy a house in Southridge.”
My father stared hard at her.
“You’ve been looking into me?”
“If you did it, you left a paper trail.”
My father’s composure finally cracked.
“Diane, don’t mistake my patience for weakness.”
“You won’t sign, right? Fine. Worst case, the company goes bankrupt, and we all
go down
together.”
I couldn’t hold back anymore and rushed out of my room.
“You wouldn’t dare. That debt’s in your name. It has nothing to do with Diane.’
“Nothing to do with her?” My father sneered. “Ask a lawyer what marital debt means. As long as a judge decides the debt relates to the marriage, Diane won’t be free of it either. Claire, you think you’re so smart? You and Diane aren’t smart enough to take me down.”
I stared at him, shaking.
“Mom, is that true?” My voice shook.
My mother patted my hand.
“Don’t worry. I don’t make a move without proof.”
That weekend, my mother took me to Cedar Ridge Estates in Southridge.
We didn’t go inside.
Instead, we stopped in front of a private club near the community entrance.
The Crest Club.
“Mom, why are we here?”
“To meet someone.”
A few minutes later, a black Mercedes stopped at the club entrance.
The window rolled down, revealing Mark Sullivan’s grim face.
“Diane, you
said on the phone yesterday that you had solid evidence Richard has been moving assets?” Mark went straight to the point.
“Mark, get in the car.” My mother pulled me into the back seat.
My mother handed the flash drive to Mark.
“Inside are all the transaction records from the last 6 months. Richard used Serena’s Lane Contemporary Gallery to issue fake invoices and move company funds. The total is $2,500,000.”
Mark quickly opened several files.
His expression hardened.
“That bastard. I treated him like a partner, and he treated me like an ATM.”
“No wonder vendors were chasing payments last month, and he kept saying there was no money in
the account.”
“Mark, he’s trying to refinance the house in my name to cover this hole.”
My mother’s tone was calm.
“If he succeeds, this mess will be buried for now. It’ll be much harder for you to hold him
accountable later.”
“Like hell he will.” Anger flashed in Mark’s eyes. “Diane, what do you want to do?”
“I want him to walk away from the divorce with nothing, and I want him to pay back every cent he
took, with interest.
My mother looked at Mark.
“But I can’t do it alone. I need your cooperation.”
Mark laughed coldly.
“Don’t worry. I hate men who use company money to bankroll their mistresses more than
anything.”
