Chapter 576
Chapter 576:
Isolde regarded Belle’s pale, trembling form. There was no gloating in her eyes—only the cold, mechanical satisfaction of a surgeon who had successfully amputated a diseased limb.
“Furthermore,” Isolde added, “SkyLine Aerospace reserves the right to pursue aggressive litigation against InnoTech for breach of contract and intentional project delays p>
The meeting was adjourned.
Board members snapped their briefcases shut and filed out quickly, avoiding eye contact with Belle as though she carried a contagious disease. Grayson rose, buttoned his suit jacket, and walked toward the door. He stopped when he drew level with Belle, though he did not look at her.
“I want a legally binding explanation on my desk by eight o’clock tomorrow morning,” he said. “If you cannot account for the missing funds, I will personally hand this file to the District Attorney p>
He walked out.
Belle’s knees gave way. She sank to the thick carpet, and the boardroom settled into an absolute, merciless silence.
She had less than twenty-four hours. She had to fill a two-hundred-million-dollar crater, and if she failed, she was going to prison.
Her hands shook violently as she reached into her pocket for her phone. She had to make the one call she had sworn she would never make. She had to call the Juarez family trust manager.
The interior of the Juarez family mansion in the Hamptons smelled of stale gin and expensive floral perfume.
Belle burst through the heavy oak front doors without bothering to remove her coat. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes wide and frantic as she moved through the foyer.
𝘉𝘦 pа𝘳𝗍 𝘰𝘧 𝗼𝘶𝗋 сom𝗺𝘂𝘯𝗶𝘁у 𝗼𝗻
She found her mother in the sunken living room.
Cheryl Juarez sat slumped on a velvet sofa in a silk robe, a half-empty crystal glass of gin dangling loosely from her fingers. The massive flat-screen television on the wall played a muted news broadcast, its ticker crawling along the bottom of the screen: InnoTech Removed from Defense Contract Amid Fraud Allegations.
“Mom!” Belle’s voice cracked like breaking glass.
Cheryl flinched and slowly turned her head. Her makeup was smeared, making her look haggard and old. “What do you want?” she slurred, raising the glass to her lips. “My reputation is destroyed. My friends will not return my calls. Leave me alone p>
Belle crossed the room in three strides. She grabbed her mother’s shoulders and shook her violently. Gin sloshed over the rim of the glass and darkened the velvet upholstery.
“Wake up!” Belle shrieked. “If we do not plug the hole in the company accounts by tomorrow morning, I am going to federal prison! Just like Marcus Lee p>
The word prison cut through the alcoholic haze like a blade. Cheryl’s eyes snapped wide. She dropped the glass, and it shattered on the hardwood floor.
“Prison?” Cheryl gasped. “How much do you need p>
“Two hundred million dollars,” Belle said, her breath coming in short, panicked bursts. “In cash. By eight in the morning p>
Cheryl shoved Belle away and scrambled backward on the sofa, pressing herself into the cushions. “Are you insane?” she cried. “We do not have that kind of liquid cash! The company is bleeding p>