Chapter 4 - The Financial Dissection
By 12:45 a.m., the kitchen had turned into an operational command center. Theresa and Arthur sat on their large floral suitcases in the hallway, weeping openly and shouting insults, while the two patrol officers stood over them, ensuring they didn't touch anything else belonging to the estate.
Sebastian sat at the dining room table, his head in his hands, as Diane Vance systematically spread a series of financial ledgers across the wood.
"Let’s talk about the nineteen thousand dollar invoice you presented to Valerie tonight, Sebastian," Diane said, clicking her gold pen. "You told your parents that Valerie would pay for their relocation because she makes more money than you. What you didn't tell them is that you haven't contributed a single dollar to the joint household account in nine months."
Valerie stood behind Diane, her arms crossed, watching her husband crumble under the weight of his own spreadsheet.
"I reviewed the joint account statements while we were at the police station, Sebastian," Valerie said. "Every month, you told me your share of the utility and grocery money was being wired from your personal account. But you weren't wiring anything. You were using a photoshopped transfer confirmation receipt to lie to me, while routing your actual salary into a separate account under your mother’s name in Ohio."
Sebastian looked up, his eyes wide with panic. "Valerie, I was planning for our future! My parents needed that money to clear their debts before they moved here! I was going to pay you back!"
"With what?" Diane Vance interrupted, sliding a document from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue across the table. "With the money you owe the state? We pulled your corporate advisory registration an hour ago. You were terminated from your firm in January for violating compliance rules regarding personal trading accounts. You haven't had a job in four months, Sebastian. You’ve been pretending to go to work every morning while living off Valerie’s credit card extensions."
Theresa gasped from the hallway, looking at her son. "Sebastian? You said you got a promotion! You told us you bought this house!"
"He lied to you, Theresa," Valerie said, looking directly at her mother-in-law. "Just like he lied to me. He brought you here to use your moving invoices as a smoke screen to drain whatever liquidity I had left in my personal savings. He told you I was the rich, arrogant wife who needed to learn her place, because he was too cowardly to admit to his own parents that he was a unemployed fraud."
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Arthur stood up from his suitcase, his face pale, his hands trembling as he looked at the blue plastic folder he had proudly placed on the table earlier. "Sebastian... is this true? Our house in Ohio... the money from the sale... you told us to wire it to your personal investment fund for safekeeping."
"Oh, it gets better, Arthur," Diane Vance said, flipping to the final page of the financial audit. "That money never went into an investment fund. It went into a high-risk crypto-margin account that was liquidated by the broker three weeks ago. Your son didn't just ruin Valerie’s marriage tonight. He completely bankrupt you."
