Chapter 6 - The Confession of Diane Bennett
By evening, the corporate world of Chicago was in complete freefall.
The emergency board meeting at Bennett & Associates hadn't just ousted Diane from her position as chairwoman; it had launched an internal forensic audit into the company’s real estate holdings over the past decade.
And the findings were devastating.
Jason sat at Sarah’s kitchen table, staring down at a thick stack of printed financial documents that his former associates had leaked to him out of self-preservation.
"She didn't just control our lives, Clara," Jason whispered, his voice cracking as he looked up at me. "She embezzled millions from the trust funds set up by my grandfather—funds that were supposed to go to Lily's future. She used shell companies to buy half the properties in River North, including the condo where we lived."
I stood by the window, rocking Lily to sleep in her arms, listening to the steady rhythm of my daughter’s breathing. "And you had no idea?"
"I trusted her," Jason said, burying his face in his hands. "Every time I questioned her, she made me feel like an ungrateful child. I was weak. I let her dictate everything because I was terrified of not being good enough for her."
"Well, you're certainly paying for it now," Sarah said bluntly from the doorway, arms crossed over her chest. "What’s your mother's next move? She doesn't go down without a nuclear option."
Just as Sarah finished speaking, Jason’s phone began to ring.
It wasn't a call. It was a video notification from an unknown number.
Jason tapped the screen.
The camera opened to show Diane Bennett standing in the grand lobby of her River North condo, surrounded by packing boxes and two armed Chicago police officers. Her face was flushed with manic rage, her hair disheveled, her eyes wild.
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“You think you can ruin me, Jason?” Diane screamed directly into the camera lens, her voice echoing off the marble floors. “You think a little internet mob and a rebellious wife can take down Diane Bennett? I’m leaving the country tonight. And when I’m gone, I’m making sure neither you nor that wretched woman ever see a single red cent of the Bennett estate!”
The video cut to black.
