I turned my attention back to Richard.
“And what about this $38,000 reception?”
He nervously cleared his throat.
“It’s a major event for prospective investors and high-end corporate clients. We really need to impress them in order to secure new contracts.”
“So your brilliant plan was to impress wealthy investors with a massive party paid for using my personal bank account?”
Nobody dared to answer.
Julian finally whispered, “We really thought the event could save their entire business.”
I stared at him in disgust.
“You could have simply asked me for help.”
He looked totally desperate.
“Would you really have given it?”
“I might have helped you figure out a legitimate business solution. But I never would have approved fake invoices or forged legal documents.”
For a brief moment, I remembered the sweet little boy who used to craft me handmade Mother’s Day cards.
The boy who swore he’d buy me a real castle someday.
Now, that exact same boy stood right in front of me, openly admitting he’d helped steal money from the business his father and I had spent decades shedding blood, sweat, and tears to build.
Chelsea suddenly snapped at me.
“If you had just been a little more generous with your ridiculous wealth, none of this would have ever happened!”
I turned to face her.
“Your parents run a business, you live in a gorgeous house, and you enjoy every luxury you could possibly want. Yet you have the nerve to blame me because you couldn’t spend my money without my permission?”
She quickly looked away.
Antonio returned after speaking quietly with Sophia.
“The $38,000 charge has been officially rejected. The account restrictions will remain active, and our compliance team is actively preserving all the relevant records.”
“Thank you.”
Richard abruptly shifted his tone to something much friendlier.
“Eleanor, surely we can settle this privately. After all, we’re family.”
I looked right through him.
“You seemed to remember that very quickly.”
Margaret started sobbing.
“You’re going to completely ruin our business!”
“No. Your own poor decisions may have already done that for you.”
Chelsea grabbed Julian’s suit sleeve.
“We are leaving right now.”
Sophia approached them very calmly.
“Of course you are. But your dinner reservation tonight will require a separate payment method.”
Richard reached shakily into his pocket for his wallet.
As I turned around to leave, Julian called out after me.
“Mom! Are you seriously choosing money over your only son?”
I stopped in my tracks.
“No, Julian. You chose money over your own mother. I am simply refusing to let you do it ever again.”
I walked out into the cool evening air before he could see my tears fall.
The very next morning, I sat down with my attorney.
We submitted all the relevant documents to the proper authorities and fully cooperated with the fraud investigation.
Over the following few months, investigators confirmed that Julian had submitted forged authorizations to push through the improper corporate payouts.