Chapter 14 - The Missing Seventy-Two ThousandThe forensic audit took seven weeks.
The final number was larger than expected.
$238,460 in unauthorized or falsely characterized transactions.
Not all stolen outright.
Some were legitimate expenses shifted between accounts.
Some were repaid.
Some involved company assets temporarily used for Reed Development.
The clearest unsupported loss totaled $72,300.
Ashley stared at the figure.
Darius explained.
“Forty-two-eight moved through Simone’s vendor profile.”
“Recovered?”
“Partially.”
“Northline?”
“Twenty-one-five attributable there.”
“Apartment?”
“Corporate rent totals twenty-eight-eight so far, but housing itself existed as an asset. The misuse is more complicated.”
“And Simone’s payments to Marcus?”
“Personal issue between them, potentially relevant to fraud.”
Ashley nodded.
“What happens next?”
“Outside counsel has provided findings to the company insurer and appropriate authorities.”
“Does that mean he’ll be arrested?”
“Not necessarily immediately.”
Ashley appreciated the restraint.
Real legal processes were slower and less cinematic than anger wanted them to be.
Civil claims would proceed.
Criminal investigators would decide what charges, if any, the evidence supported.
Ashley asked, “Can he sell the warehouse?”
“Not without addressing liens.”
“The bakery building?”
“Seller terminated the Reed Development purchase contract after financing failed.”
Ashley exhaled.
Simone’s studio was no longer in danger of becoming Marcus’s property.
“What about my father’s loan?”
“That is an estate claim.”
Evelyn chose to enforce it.
That surprised Ashley.
Her mother said simply, “Your father protected Marcus enough.”
Meanwhile, Danielle negotiated with Bennett Hospitality over Simone’s position.
The company formally acknowledged that Simone was not an authorized participant in the false vendor arrangement.
Her legitimate invoices would be separated from fraudulent ones.
Bennett agreed not to pursue her for funds she never received.
The $25,000 Marcus sent remained frozen pending tracing.
Simone’s merchant processor restored normal status.
Business slowly returned.
Not completely.
She lost eleven clients.
Then gained fourteen new ones.
Some people hired her because of the viral story.
She hated that.
Keisha told her, “Money is money.”
Simone replied, “Not always.”
They became more selective.
No “betrayal cake” marketing.
No jokes.
No recreations of the wedding.
Simone refused every interview offer.
One national daytime show offered fifteen thousand dollars.
She declined.
“I’m not turning my worst day into entertainment.”
Keisha smiled.
“Growth.”
“Don’t start.”
The studio landlord offered Simone an option to purchase the building herself.
She laughed when she saw the price.
“I can’t afford this.”
Danielle said, “Not now.”
Simone stared at the numbers.
Marcus had planned to own forty-nine percent.
Without his money, the dream looked farther away.
But it was clean.
She could decide later.
Ashley faced another choice.
Bennett Hospitality’s board asked her to become chief operating officer after restructuring.
Marcus’s former domain would partly fall under her authority.
Evelyn expected her to accept.
Ashley hesitated.
“You’ve wanted this for years,” her mother said.
“I wanted it before I learned how much this family hides.”
“Then change it.”
Ashley studied her.
“That easy?”
“No.”
Evelyn smiled sadly.
“That necessary.”
Ashley accepted on one condition.
Independent audit controls.
No family-member override of expense investigations.
No private “advances” to executives outside board review.
Evelyn agreed.
Charles Bennett’s culture of personal discretion would end.
Not because he had been a bad man.
Because good men could build dangerous habits.
At the next board meeting Ashley said:
“We treated trust as a substitute for controls. It isn’t.”
Nobody argued.
That evening Marcus emailed both women through counsel.
He wanted mediation regarding restitution.
Danielle advised Simone to attend only if useful.
“Do I have to?”
“No.”
“Will it speed up getting my money back?”
“Possibly.”
“Then I’ll go.”
Ashley received similar advice.
The meeting was scheduled for the following Thursday.
Before attending, Simone opened the old ownership proposal again.
51%.
She folded it and placed it in her bag.
Ashley brought the wedding vendor ledger.
Each woman carried a different artifact of Marcus’s promises.
When Marcus entered the conference room, his eyes moved from Ashley to Simone.
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
He looked stunned to see them sitting on the same side of the table.
And for the first time, neither woman felt like the other one was competition.
Related Stories
