Chapter 1 - The First Domino
Catherine stared at the thick stack of papers in her hands.
The color drained from her face so quickly she looked like a ghost.
The small lemon knife slipped from her fingers and clattered loudly against the kitchen island.
Madison lowered her phone, the glowing selfie filter forgotten.
She asked her mother what was wrong, but Catherine could not speak.
Richard snatched the documents from his wife, his jaw clenching with sudden rage.
The first page was an immediate eviction notice for the house they lived in.
The second page was a federal subpoena demanding their presence in court for aggravated identity theft.
The third page was a detailed ledger of every single unauthorized transfer Madison had forced me to make.
Richard crumpled the papers in his massive fist.
He roared my name, but I was not there to absorb his anger.
He pulled out his cell phone with shaking hands.
He dialed the direct number to my boss, Mr. Harrison.
He planned to fulfill his threat and ruin my career with a fabricated story about me stealing company funds.
The phone rang three times before a stern voice answered on the other end.
Richard immediately began spinning his web of lies.
He claimed I was a mentally unstable thief who had been embezzling money for months.
He demanded that I be fired and arrested immediately.
Mr. Harrison did not interrupt him until Richard finally ran out of breath.
Then, Mr. Harrison chuckled, a dry and humorless sound.
He told Richard that he was speaking to the wrong person.
Mr. Harrison revealed that he was no longer the owner of the company.
He stated that he had sold the entire firm two weeks ago to a new majority shareholder.
Richard demanded to know who was in charge so he could get me fired.
A new voice came on the line, soft and incredibly cold.
It was my voice.
May you like
I told my father that I was the new owner of the company.
I whispered that the police were already surrounding his house.
