Page 91 of My Ex-Fiance's Best Men
“Mrs. Baldwin, it’s time for you to sit down and listen carefully,” August tells her.
“You don’t get to come into my business and dictate the terms to me!” she hisses, her face red with fury, hands shaking at her sides.
I’ve never seen her like this before. I hardly recognize my own mother, and it’s breaking my heart all over again. Except, this time, the feeling in my chest is different. Almost liberating.
“Mrs. Baldwin, there is a team of FBI agents and SEC representatives waiting outside,” Penny says. “They have a warrant in their possession based on the evidence they were provided from this folder,” she adds, pointing at the leather-bound files. “It gives them a full scope of search across the entire premises, including your offices and your persons. Detailed in this folder is proof of how you manipulated and embezzled funds from the company, and it addresses both you and Crystal. Mismanagement, illegal activities, siphoning money for the illegal gambling circuit along with a slew of evidence that will be used against you in court.”
“You’re insane,” Crystal gasps.
“No, I’m effective and very good at my job,” Penny shoots back.
“There’s a warrant out for your arrest, as well, Mrs. Baldwin,” Dominic says. “They found your check at the Jade Dragon. They have you on camera while actively participating in the ring’s illicit gambling activities and several witnesses who agreed to a deal with the District Attorney in exchange for testimony against you.”
“In layman’s terms, you’re cooked,” Theo adds.
Mom stills, the color drained from her face. Crystal fidgets in her chair, like she doesn’t know what to do. Mr. Harding, on the other hand, is already on his phone, sending frantic text after frantic text.
“Don’t worry, Helen, we’ll get ahead of this,” he says.
“How did you get?—”
“Evidence?” August cuts her off. “We were resourceful. And believe it or not, there are plenty of people within Baldwin Enterprises who are aware of your misbehavior and who wish to see the company saved from your recklessness. The Feds and the SEC have enough to put you away for a few years, at least. Crystal, too.”
“What?” my sister yelps. “I… I’m not involved!”
“There is ample evidence of misappropriation of funds, poorly or completely unjustified expenses,” Penny says. “That’s just for starters. There’s more. Your lawyer will study the folder in depth and give you the Cliff’s Notes, don’t worry.”
“Mom! Are they for real?” Crystal asks.
Mom shakes her head. “Do not say another word.”
“But Mom?—”
“Shut up, Crystal!”
“Then there’s the matter of forged documents, manipulated assets, and tampering with the stock exchange, for which we also gathered compelling evidence,” Penny continues.
“Like I said, you’re cooked,” August tells her.
“Kiss whatever lawsuit you were filing against Phoebe goodbye,” Dominic says and places another document on the table. “This is a memorandum signed by the Baldwin Enterprise’s executive board, demanding yours and Crystal’s immediate resignation and requesting that Phoebe take your place starting on her twenty-fifth birthday.”
“That’s just a couple of weeks away, right?” Theo asks me, gleeful and cordial, like it’s just tea and cake conversation.
I nod. “Yes.”
“You could still try and sue Phoebe,” August says, giving Mr. Harding a cold grin. “But I’m sure you’ll have your hands full with building a shoddy defense for Helen and Crystal. I say shoddy because you’ll find the evidence against them is beyond compelling and abiding by the chain-of-custody regulations.”
“Chain of what?” Crystal mumbles.
Judging by the terrified pallor stretched across her face, my sister knows this is the end of the road, and nothing prepared her for it. She’s not equipped to deal with the consequences of her actions. She will pay for what she’s done, much like our mother.
“Chain of custody,” Dominic tells her. “Don’t worry, Crys, I’m sure you’ll be able to work out a deal of your own with the DA in exchange for a reduced sentence. He’s really more interested in having the whole book thrown at your mother, to be honest.”
“I can make a deal?”
“Shut up, Crystal!” Mom hisses, but my sister can’t hear her anymore.
Her mind is already wandering to a potential solution for this unexpected problem. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose. She’ll throw her own kin under the bus in order to save herself, and the irony doesn’t go unnoticed.
