“You spent years humiliating me by pretending I was incompetent while you drained my accounts,” I told him. “You just never thought I was smart enough to catch you.”
Meredith then dropped the final piece of evidence that effectively ended the conversation. “In addition to the credit card theft, we have traced irregular wire transfers from the firm to an offshore shell company called Ridge Logistics.”
Preston turned a shade of white that matched the snow outside. “What on earth are you talking about?” Beatrice asked, looking confused.
“For the last six months, fake invoices were generated for ‘consulting services’ that were actually payments to a gambling site,” Meredith explained.
“That’s a lie!” Preston shouted, though his voice cracked at the end.
“Is it a lie?” I asked. “Because the shell company is registered to the secondary email address you use for your online poker tournaments.”
Chloe’s mouth dropped open as she looked at her brother with genuine shock. “Wait, Preston, did you actually do that?”
That was the moment I realized that even his own sister hadn’t been fully briefed on the extent of his desperation. Preston gave me a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.