Chapter 5 - The Fall of Hinsdale
By Friday afternoon, the storm had completely engulfed the Bennett family.
Following my submission of the Aegis Holdings LLC ledgers to the authorities, federal and state agents executed simultaneous search warrants at our Oak Brook home and Grace Bennett’s sprawling estate in Hinsdale.
The news broke across Chicago local media by six o'clock:
PROMINENT OAK BROOK FAMILY UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR COMMERCIAL TAX FRAUD AND LABOR EXPLOITATION.
I was staying at a boutique hotel downtown, working closely with my divorce attorney, Sarah Jenkins.
At three o'clock, Sarah’s assistant opened the door to the glass conference room where we were working.
"Maya," Sarah said, looking up from her laptop. "Grace and Fern Bennett are downstairs in the lobby. They are demanding to see you. Security is preparing to escort them off the premises, but..."
"No," I said, standing up and smoothing my skirt. "Let them come up."
Two minutes later, Grace and Fern swept into the room.
The transformation was astounding. Grace was no longer the serene, pearl-wearing matriarch of Hinsdale society. Her hair was disheveled, her expensive silk blouse was rumpled, and her eyes were wide with a frantic, animal terror.
Fern stood behind her, crying hysterically, clutching a forty-thousand-dollar Hermes handbag to her chest as if it were a life preserver.
"You monster!" Grace shrieked the moment the door closed behind them. "You treacherous, ungrateful viper! Look at what you have done to my family!"
"Hello, Grace. Hello, Fern," I said calmly, sitting back down at the head of the conference table. "Please, sit."
"Don't you tell me to sit!" Grace spat, her voice cracking. "The federal marshals frozen my accounts this morning! My trust is locked! They towed my Mercedes from the driveway! They served Fern with a grand jury subpoena at her gym!"
"They took my credit cards, Maya!" Fern wailed, dropping onto a leather chair, her face streaked with tears and ruined mascara. "I tried to buy coffee this morning and the card was declined! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?!"
I looked at Fern, then at Grace, feeling no anger—only a profound, pitying disgust.
"You ran an illegal business for three years, Grace," I said flatly. "You committed tax evasion on over two million dollars of income. You forced an injured woman to work twelve hours a day under threat of framing her for theft. Did you really think you were untouchable forever?"
"Alex was taking care of it!" Grace yelled, slamming her hands onto the table. "Alex is the CEO! He made sure the accounts were safe! He protected this family!"
"Alex couldn't even protect himself," I countered softly. "The board of Bennett Commercial Group removed him as CEO this morning. His corporate shares have been frozen pending the IRS audit. He is facing up to ten years in federal prison for felony money laundering and tax fraud."
Fern let out a loud, pathetic squeal, covering her face with her hands. "Ten years?! What am I supposed to do?! Who is going to pay my condo mortgage?!"
Grace stepped closer to me, her trembling hands resting on the back of a chair. The arrogant, icy matriarch was gone; in her place was a desperate, defeated old woman.
"Maya... please," Grace begged, her voice dropping into a raspy, shaking whisper. "Talk to your lawyers. Tell the investigators it was a misunderstanding. Tell them you made a mistake with the files. I will give you whatever you want. I will give you the house. Just... save my son. Save my family."
I looked Grace directly in the eyes.
"You didn't care about family when Theresa was crying on her knees in my kitchen, Grace," I said, my voice steady and unshakeable. "You didn't care about family when you turned my home into a sweatshop. You cared about your pearls, your country club status, and your endless greed."
I stood up, gathering my files from the table.
May you like
"I am not saving you, Grace. And I am certainly not saving Alex. You built this trap together. Now, you can sit in it together."
I walked out of the conference room, leaving Grace staring blankly at the empty doorway while Fern wept hysterically into her designer bag.
