Chapter 6: The Poisoned Paper Trail
Two days later, the rain had cleared over New England, leaving behind a crisp, cool morning. Clara sat up in a private suite at Yale New Haven Hospital, her color returning, the monitors confirming that both she and the baby were in perfect health.
Alexander sat on the edge of her bed, his laptop open on his lap. Beside him sat Marcus Vance, his chief legal counsel and private investigator.
“The criminal case against Samantha is airtight,” Marcus reported, laying out three thick manila folders on the bedside table. “The video footage left her high-priced defense lawyers with zero room to maneuver. They offered a plea bargain this morning: five years in state prison, but we declined. We’re pushing for the full ten-year maximum for assault on a pregnant victim.”
“Good,” Alexander said without a trace of mercy. “What about the foundation accounts?”
Marcus pulled a ledger from the second folder. “That’s where things get even more sinister, Clara. Samantha wasn't just trying to drive you away because she disliked you. She was desperate to cover up a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme.”
Clara blinked in surprise. “Embezzlement? From the Sterling Children’s Hospital Trust?”
“Over the last three years,” Marcus explained, pointing to a series of wire transfers, “Samantha routed over four million dollars from the charity into shell companies in the Cayman Islands. She used the money to pay off massive debts accrued by her secret gambling addiction in Macao and Atlantic City. She knew that as soon as you took over as head of the board next month, your background in corporate accounting would uncover the missing funds within forty-eight hours.”
May you like
Clara rested her back against the pillows, the pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place. “That’s why she pushed me. If I lost the baby or was forced into an extended medical leave, the audit would have been delayed.”
“She was willing to destroy my entire life to cover her paper trail,” Alexander said, his hands clenching into fists. “She didn't care who she broke in the process.”
