Chapter 8 - The Financial Collapse
The fallout was biblical, and it happened with terrifying speed.
When a federal judge refers a case to the District Attorney, the DA doesn't drag their feet. Within three days of the hearing, the white-collar crime unit subpoenaed the servers at NovaTech Solutions. What they found went far beyond bad business practices; it was outright bank fraud. Marcus had been forging purchase orders to secure his loans.
By Friday morning, Marcus's company was entirely frozen. The shadow lenders he had borrowed from didn't wait for the courts. They seized his assets. His accounts were drained, his company cars were repossessed, and his leased luxury apartment was locked down.
Elena fared no better. David, her husband, tried to distance himself, claiming he knew nothing of the fraud. But because Elena was a silent partner in Marcus’s LLC, the creditors came for her, too.
I sat on my back porch, sipping Earl Grey tea, watching the local news on my iPad.
“Local Tech CEO Marcus Vance indicted on three counts of wire fraud and bank fraud. Authorities seized the assets of NovaTech earlier this morning...”
My phone rang. It was Clara, my sister in Florida. Her tone had completely changed from the patronizing concern of the previous week.
“Eleanor... my god, I just saw the news,” Clara stammered. “I had no idea. Elena lied to me. She told me you were losing your mind. I am so, so sorry.”
“It’s fine, Clara,” I said calmly. “People believe what is easiest. I prefer the truth.”
“What’s going to happen to them?” Clara asked.
“The consequences of their own actions,” I replied, and hung up the phone.
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They had spent their entire lives shielded from consequence. I had bailed them out of speeding tickets, paid off their college credit card debts, and funded their weddings. I had taught them that a safety net would always appear.
The greatest failure of my life was not realizing that my generosity had poisoned them. I had created monsters of entitlement. But I was a magistrate. My life was dedicated to correcting errors. And this error was finally being corrected.
