Chapter 4 - The House of Cards
At two o'clock that afternoon, the glass tower of Sterling Development Group in downtown Charlotte was in absolute pandemonium.
Phones were ringing off the hook on every floor. Executive assistants were sprinting between offices carrying yellow legal pads, and nervous investors were standing in the lobby demanding to speak to the CEO.
In the corner penthouse office on the 12th floor, Marcus Sterling was sweating profusely through his three-thousand-dollar tailored suit.
Tall, slicked-back dark hair, and holding a gold fountain pen, Marcus was furiously slamming his fist onto his mahogany desk as his chief financial officer paced back and forth in front of him.
"What do you mean First Horizon canceled the line of credit?!" Marcus roared, his face red with anger. "We were supposed to draw down $800,000 today for the general contractors on the South End project!"
"They pulled the plug, Marcus!" the CFO yelled back, tossing a stack of papers onto the desk. "The title company flagged the collateral on the River Oaks estate! They said the deed was fraudulent! The owner’s attorney just served us with a freeze order, and the bank is calling in the entire $2.2 million construction loan by five o'clock today!"
"That's impossible!" Marcus spat, pacing behind his desk like a caged animal. "Victoria told me her brother was stuck in Saudi Arabia! She said he wouldn't be back for months! Richard Hayes swore the notary stamp would hold up!"
"Richard Hayes was picked up by the SBI two hours ago, Marcus!" the CFO shouted. "He’s talking! The state investigators are reviewing every single deal we’ve closed in the last two years!"
Marcus grabbed his hair, his eyes wide with panic. "Call Victoria! Tell her to get her mother to transfer the offshore cash right now!"
"I don't think Victoria can help you, Mr. Sterling."
Marcus spun around.
Standing in the doorway of his private office was a man he had never seen before. Behind me stood two uniformed officers from the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office, along with Samuel Vance holding a thick leather briefcase.
Marcus straightened his tie, trying to regain his arrogant posture. "Who the hell are you? You can't just walk into my private office!"
"I'm Leo Gardner," I said smoothly, walking into the room and taking a seat on the leather sofa opposite his desk. "The owner of the house you tried to steal."
Marcus froze. The color completely drained from his face, turning his tanned complexion into a sickly shade of gray.
"Leo..." Marcus stammered, his confident demeanor vanishing instantly. "Listen... there’s been a massive misunderstanding... Victoria told me—"
"I know what Victoria told you, Marcus," I interrupted, crossing my legs comfortably. "She told you that her idiot brother was sweating in the desert, sending home thousands of dollars that nobody was tracking. She told you that she and her mother owned the estate, and that you could use my land as collateral to save your failing company."
"I was going to pay it back!" Marcus pleaded, rushing around his desk with his hands held out. "As soon as the condos sold, I was going to quiet-title the property back to you! I swear to God, Leo, I didn't know about your wife! I didn't know what Evelyn was doing to Elena and Julian!"
"You didn't know?" Samuel Vance spoke up, pulling a tablet from his briefcase and pressing play.
A high-definition audio recording filled the quiet office.
It was a wiretapped phone call between Marcus and Victoria from three weeks ago, obtained through a court subpoena of Marcus’s business lines.
“Marcus, Elena is looking really bad,” Victoria’s voice came through the speaker clearly. “She’s coughing a lot. What if she dies out in the shed before Leo’s contract ends?”
“Just make sure she stays out of sight, Vic,” Marcus’s voice answered cold and clear. “If anyone sees her looking like that, the whole deal falls apart. Keep her locked up until the title transfer goes through next month. Once I get the $2.2 million from the bank, we’ll move her to a cheap care facility in South Carolina and tell Leo she suffered a neurological breakdown.”
The recording ended.
The room was so quiet you could hear the hum of the air conditioner.
Marcus stood frozen in the middle of the carpet, staring at the tablet in complete, horrifying silence. He couldn't deny it. He couldn't spin it. His own voice had just convicted him of conspiracy to commit human trafficking and unlawful imprisonment.
"You're a monster, Marcus," I said softly, standing up from the sofa.
"Leo... please..." Marcus sank to his knees, clutching at the hem of my trousers. "I have eighty employees! My company will collapse! I'll go to prison! Please... we can make a deal! I’ll give you fifty percent of my company!"
I looked down at him with the same absolute coldness I had shown my mother.
"You aren't giving me anything, Marcus," I said. "Because by five o'clock today, your company will be liquidated by the bankruptcy court. And these officers behind me are here to execute a felony arrest warrant."
The two sheriff's deputies stepped forward, pulling Marcus’s arms behind his back and clicking the steel handcuffs onto his wrists.
"Marcus Sterling, you are under arrest for felony fraud, forgery, commercial extortion, and conspiracy to commit human trafficking," the deputy recited calmly.
As they dragged the crying, screaming developer out of his penthouse office past his shocked employees, Samuel turned to me with a small smile.
"Marcus is done," Samuel said. "His assets are frozen, his reputation is destroyed, and he’s facing a minimum of fifteen years in state prison."
"What about Evelyn and Victoria?" I asked.
"They just arrived back at the estate," Samuel checked his phone. "They're trying to pack up their designer clothes and jewelry before the sheriff serves the eviction notice."
May you like
I looked out the high rise window toward the eastern sky where my mansion sat.
"Let's go home, Samuel," I said. "It's time to clean out the trash."
