Chapter 4 - The Confession Under Pressure
I didn't say hello. I simply held the phone to my ear and waited in absolute silence.
“Maya?” Chloe’s voice cracked instantly, trembling with a frantic, high-pitched terror that shattered any lingering illusion of sisterly affection. “Maya, oh god—why did you text me that? What are you talking about?”
“It’s a very straightforward question, Chloe,” I replied, my voice smooth, chillingly calm, and devoid of any warmth. “You're a marketing assistant making fifty thousand a year. Care to explain how you suddenly became the sole managing member of a multi-million-dollar real estate holding company funded entirely by wire transfers from my personal family trust?”
A heavy, suffocating silence stretched across the phone line. In the background, I could faintly hear the sound of a television playing and the rustle of bedsheets—she must have been jolted awake right out of a dead sleep.
“I... I don't know what you mean! Mark told me... Mark said it was a family investment! He said you wanted to diversify your assets through a separate corporate entity for tax purposes, but you needed a third party to hold the shares—!”
“Stop,” I commanded, my voice dropping to a low, lethal register that made her choke off her pathetic excuse mid-sentence. “Do not insult my intelligence, Chloe. I am a forensic auditor. I have every single transaction log, IP address, and signed bank authorization form sitting right in front of my eyes. You didn't just hold shares. You conspired with my husband to systematically loot 1.4 million dollars of my grandfather’s inheritance.”
Chloe burst into hysterical, ragged sobs. “Maya, please! Please don’t ruin me! Mark made me do it! He swore you would never find out! He said you had so much money you wouldn't even notice a few missing digits, and that we’d split the real estate returns fifty-fifty once the properties sold!”
“Mark told you to commit felony wire fraud and grand larceny, and you happily agreed because you wanted a free real estate portfolio?” I asked, my tone sharp enough to slice glass.
“He threatened me!” she lied desperately, her voice breaking into a shriek. “He said if I didn't help him set up the LLC and accept the transfers, he’d expose some private things I did in college, he’d ruin our family reputation—!”
“Save the dramatics for a federal judge, Chloe,” I interrupted coldly. “Because as of five minutes ago, my corporate legal team and I have formally filed a multi-count criminal complaint for embezzlement, conspiracy, and wire fraud against both you and Mark with the Department of Justice and the State Attorney General's office. Furthermore, our civil lawyers have already frozen every single asset held by Apex Horizon Holdings.”
There was a loud crash on the other end of the line—the sound of Chloe dropping her phone onto her hardwood floor—followed by muffled, frantic screaming.
“No, no, no! Maya, you can't do that! You'll send me to prison! I'm your sister!” she wailed, picking the phone back up.
“My sister died the moment she decided to rob me,” I said steadily. “Consider this your only warning, Chloe. Cooperate fully with my attorneys, sign over every single share of Apex Horizon Holdings back to my sole ownership by 9:00 AM tomorrow morning, and I might recommend leniency to the prosecutor. Hang up, refuse, or try to warn Mark, and I will personally ensure you spend the next ten years wearing an orange jumpsuit.”
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I didn't wait for her answer. I hit end call, blocked her number permanently, and tossed the phone onto the desk.
Phase one was complete. Now, it was time to deal with my husband.
