Chapter 8 - Owen Hart Walks Into The Hotel
Owen Hart arrived voluntarily with two attorneys.
He denied stealing anything.
He admitted Hartwell processed payments for the suspicious vendors.
But he said Ryan created them.
Owen produced emails.
In one, Ryan wrote:
KEEP EACH INVOICE UNDER ONE-NINETY.
Another:
NATHAN NEVER REVIEWS EVENT VENDORS PERSONALLY.
Ryan said the emails were fabricated.
Forensic analysis would be required.
Then Owen produced bank statements.
Money from the vendors moved into Hartwell.
From there, most went to Crestwell subsidiaries.
A smaller portion went to Owen personally.
Owen admitted receiving fees.
He claimed Ryan described them as legitimate consulting income.
Ryan’s lawyer attacked Owen’s credibility.
Fairly.
Owen had financial motives to shift blame.
So Nathan refused to decide based on one witness.
The independent review examined metadata.
The emails originated from Ryan’s authenticated Crestwell account.
Not impossible to spoof.
But consistent with other records.
More importantly, Crestwell accounting showed matching deposits.
Ryan could no longer deny receiving money connected to the fake vendors.
He changed his explanation.
The money was reimbursement for event development costs.
Nathan asked for contracts.
There were none.
Emily watched Ryan’s story shrink each time evidence appeared.
Vanessa finally understood something too.
Ryan had not trusted her.
He had used her.
She had still chosen cruelty.
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But the reason behind it was not love.
It was concealment.
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