Chapter 9: The Last Conversation
Preston called four times that afternoon.
Natalie let all four go to voicemail.
She listened to the first one.
He sounded controlled, which meant he was afraid.
He said he wanted to explain.
He said things were more complicated than they appeared.
He said Sloan had her own motivations and she should consider that before trusting anything Sloan had told her.
She deleted it without listening to the rest.
At 4:15, Diana called.
"The forensic accountant finished the preliminary review.
The Cayman account holds $1.2 million.
The total moved through Hudson Crest and SMR combined is $487,000 over twenty-two months." A pause.
"There's also a third entity.
A Delaware LLC registered in a former colleague's name.
We found it in the wire records Sloan provided."
"How much?"
"$93,000.
The colleague appears to have been unaware the entity existed in his name.
Preston registered it using documents from a previous business relationship."
"He used someone else's identity."
"It appears so."
Natalie sat down on the edge of Renata's couch.
"Diana, what are we looking at now?"
"Marital asset fraud.
Forgery of a legal document.
Potential wire fraud given the interstate transfers.
Possible identity fraud related to the Delaware LLC." Diana's voice was measured.
"I've already been in contact with a prosecutor's office.
They've been aware of Whitmore Capital for some time — there was a separate inquiry related to the collapsed equity deal.
Our documentation accelerates their timeline considerably."
"What does that mean for the divorce?"
"It means the asset freeze holds.
It means the Cayman account is recoverable.
It means your daughter's fund will be made whole from the marital estate before any other distribution." A brief pause.
"And it means Preston's attorney called me an hour ago asking whether there was any path to a negotiated resolution before things escalate further."
"What did you tell him?"
"That I would convey the inquiry to my client."
Natalie looked at the window.
The afternoon light was going flat and gray.
"Set up a meeting," she said.
"One meeting.
In your office.
Preston can say whatever he needs to say.
And then we're done negotiating."
The meeting happened two days later.
Preston arrived with his attorney — a man named Carver whom Natalie had met at company functions and always found slightly too smooth.
Preston himself looked like he had not slept well.
His suit was right but his eyes were wrong.
He looked at Natalie across Diana's conference table and said, "Thank you for agreeing to this."
"Say what you came to say," Natalie replied.
Carver began with a prepared statement about the complexity of the financial structure and Preston's willingness to cooperate with any regulatory inquiry.
Diana let him finish.
Then she opened her folder and placed the forged postnuptial agreement on the table.
Preston looked at it.
"I'd like to hear you explain this one," Natalie said.
"Not Carver.
You."
Preston looked at his attorney.
Carver gave a small, careful nod.
"It was Foss's idea," Preston said.
"I didn't — I wasn't planning to submit it.
It was a contingency.
In case the financial situation became public and we needed a legal framework in place."
"A contingency," Natalie said.
"I know how it looks."
"It looks like you had my signature forged on a document that would have taken everything from me and our daughter if this divorce had gone the way you planned it."
"I wasn't planning to use it."
"Gerald Foss notarized it.
You paid him $61,000.
You kept it in a file." Natalie's voice stayed even.
"People don't pay $61,000 for contingencies they're not planning to use."
Preston said nothing.
"Here is what's going to happen," Diana said.
She laid out the terms clearly and without theater: full financial disclosure, recovery of all transferred assets, the Cayman account returned to the marital estate, the forged document referred to the prosecutor's office along with the full cooperation of Natalie's legal team.
In exchange, Natalie would not pursue additional civil claims against Preston personally — provided he signed the revised divorce agreement by the end of the week.
Carver leaned over and spoke quietly to Preston.
Preston looked at the table for a long moment.
Then he looked at Natalie.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"I know I've said that before.
I know it doesn't fix anything."
"No," Natalie said.
"It doesn't."
"Is there anything—" He stopped.
Started again.
"Is there anything you want me to say to her?
When she's old enough to understand?"
Natalie looked at him.
"I'll handle that," she said.
"That's not yours anymore."
Preston nodded once.
May you like
He picked up the pen Carver had placed in front of him.
He signed.
