Chapter 4 - The Unraveling
By 3:00 AM, Richard had consumed half a bottle of scotch, but the alcohol couldn't numb the rising tide of paranoia consuming him. He had called his lawyer five times, demanding to know if the police had found anything at the crash site or if anyone had accessed his accounts, but Marcus Vance had no answers.
"You're stressed, Richard," Marcus had told him over the phone. "You just went through a traumatic event. The account transfer must have been an automated fraud hold by the Swiss bank because of the news. We'll handle it in the morning. Go to sleep."
But Richard couldn't sleep. Every creak of the house, every rustle of the wind outside sounded like a threat.
The next morning, Richard arrived at the glass-and-steel headquarters of Hayes Global Technologies in downtown San Francisco. He was wearing a dark blue suit, trying desperately to cover up the dark circles under his eyes with expensive cologne and a stern expression.
He walked into the executive boardroom, expecting to take his seat at the head of the table. But when he walked in, he found the board members sitting in total silence, surrounding a man in a sharp grey suit whom Richard had never seen before.
"Richard," said Arthur Pendelton, the senior board member and a long-time friend of my father. "Thank you for joining us. This is Mr. Julian Thorne, representing an independent forensic auditing firm."
Richard’s posture stiffened. "An auditing firm? Arthur, my wife has been missing for less than forty-eight hours. The search is still ongoing. Why are auditors in this room?"
Julian Thorne stood up, unbuttoning his jacket. He was one of Vance’s top legal operatives, a ruthless former federal prosecutor.
"Mr. Hayes," Julian said calmly, sliding a thick binder across the conference table. "Prior to her trip yesterday, Mrs. Amelia Hayes enacted a legal contingency protocol known as 'Ironclad.' Under this protocol, in the event of her death, disappearance, or incapacitation, all voting rights and executive authority do not pass to her spouse. They are immediately transferred to an independent board of trustees."
Richard’s face drained of color. "That’s ridiculous! I’m her husband! We didn't sign any such agreement!"
"She signed it three weeks ago," Julian replied coldly. "And along with that document, Mrs. Hayes filed a formal request for a complete forensic audit of all corporate funds accessed by you over the past six months."
The room went dead silent. The board members stared at Richard, their expressions cold and suspicious.
"This is an outrage!" Richard shouted, slamming his fist onto the table. "My wife was emotionally unstable due to her pregnancy! She was manipulated by outside parties! I am the head of this family, and I will not allow you to disrespect her memory by trying to strip me of my rights!"
"There's one more thing, Mr. Hayes," Julian added, pulling a tablet from his briefcase and tapping the screen. "An hour ago, our legal team received an anonymous tip containing bank records from an offshore entity in the Cayman Islands registered under your mother’s maiden name."
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Richard’s breath hitched in his throat.
"These records show," Julian continued, his voice cutting through the tension like a razor, "that over twelve million dollars was transferred from Hayes Global research accounts into this offshore entity over the last ninety days. It appears someone was stripping assets from the company... in anticipation of Mrs. Hayes’s death."
