Chapter 2
The destruction of Gallagher Imports happened very quickly,
like a house of cards collapsing in a strong wind.
By Tuesday afternoon,
the news had leaked to the local financial press.
Vincent's suppliers stopped their shipping trucks,
refusing to deliver goods without immediate cash payments.
His employees started packing their desks,
realizing their paychecks were going to bounce hard.
Vincent tried to secure an emergency bridge loan,
but no bank would touch him with a massive fraud investigation pending.
He was toxic,
and his entire reputation was completely destroyed in forty-eight hours.
I sat in my office reading the newspaper,
smiling at the small article on the third page.
It mentioned a mysterious holding company,
which was calling in the massive debts.
Nobody knew I owned that holding company,
not yet anyway.
I wanted the suspense to build,
I wanted Vincent to sweat in pure ignorance.
My phone rang,
and Sarah told me I had a frantic caller on line one.
It was Aaron,
calling from a hotel lobby in Paris.
I let it ring three times,
savoring the sound before I finally picked up.
Dad,
Aaron said,
his voice high and tight with absolute panic.
I need your help right now,
something crazy is happening with Vincent's accounts.
I leaned back in my leather chair,
staring at the ceiling with cold indifference.
What seems to be the problem,
I asked,
keeping my tone completely flat and bored.
Brittany's credit cards were just declined at a boutique,
he explained quickly,
and the hotel is threatening to lock us out of our room.
They are saying the corporate accounts are frozen,
and Vincent is not answering any of my calls.
I tapped my pen against the desk,
letting the silence stretch out painfully over the line.
That sounds like a terrible situation,
I finally said,
but I do not see how it involves me.
You have savings,
Aaron pleaded,
you have that retirement account you never touch.
Just wire me twenty thousand dollars,
so we can pay the hotel and get flights back home.
I actually laughed,
a dry and harsh sound that echoed in my office.
You told me to keep my pathetic little savings,
I reminded him coldly,
when you were standing in front of your rich friends.
Dad, please,
he begged,
that was just a stupid misunderstanding.
Brittany is crying in the lobby,
and the concierge is calling the local police.
I thought about Diane crying in the mud,
and my heart turned into a solid block of ice.
Maybe you should ask your new partner for an advance,
I suggested cruelly,
since you are a full partner at Gallagher Imports now.
Oh wait,
I added softly,
Gallagher Imports is currently undergoing a massive federal fraud investigation.
Aaron stopped talking,
the line going dead silent except for the static.
How do you know that,
he asked,
his voice suddenly dropping an octave in pure fear.
Because I am the one investigating them, Aaron,
I said,
dropping the final massive bomb on his head.
I am the one who owns the warehouses,
and I am the one who reported your forged signature on the lake house deed.
I heard a sharp gasp on the other end,
as the horrible reality finally crashed down on him.
You tricked your mother,
I continued,
while she was drugged in a hospital bed.
You stole our home,
and you laughed when your wife assaulted her.
Dad,
he stammered,
you don't understand, Vincent made me do it.
He said it was just a temporary collateral transfer,
he promised me we would get the house back next year.
I do not care what he promised you,
I snapped,
my anger finally breaking through my calm facade.
You are a thief,
and you are no longer welcome in our family.
Do not call this number again,
and do not ever show your face at our house.
I hung up the phone,
cutting off his desperate apologies mid-sentence.
I placed the receiver down gently,
feeling a dark sense of closure settle over me.
He was stranded in a foreign country,
with no money and a wife who only loved his fake wealth.
May you like
It was the perfect beginning to his punishment,
but I was far from finished with him.
