Chapter 5 - The Divorce Announcement
Darnell recovered enough to reach for his champagne glass.
A guard removed it before he could drink.
He glared at Lenora.
“You planned this.”
“No.”
“You brought me here to humiliate me.”
“You brought me here.”
“You knew what would happen.”
Lenora looked toward Candace.
“I knew you intended to announce something.”
Candace shifted backward.
Darnell’s jaw tightened.
Ten minutes before the shove, he had stepped onto the ballroom platform.
He thanked donors.
Praised Beverly.
Introduced Candace as “the woman who truly understood his vision.”
Then he invited Lenora forward.
At first, guests assumed he planned to honor his wife.
Instead, Darnell announced that they were separating.
He accused Lenora of undermining his company.
He claimed she had contributed nothing to their success.
He said he had generously allowed her to remain in his home until she found “appropriate accommodation.”
Beverly laughed.
Candace lifted her phone.
Lenora asked one question.
“Have you already transferred the company accounts?”
Darnell’s smile vanished.
She had discovered that he moved twelve million dollars through shell companies controlled by Candace’s brother.
Darnell grabbed her arm before she could say more.
When she refused to leave quietly, he shoved her.
Now Mr. Vincent looked toward him.
“Mrs. Harrison’s question still requires an answer.”
Darnell shook his head.
“This has nothing to do with the estate.”
“It does when the transferred capital originated from Harrison-controlled investment vehicles.”
Guests began whispering.
Darnell stared at Lenora.
“You invested in my company?”
“I funded the first three rounds.”
“That money came from independent investors.”
“Each entity was owned by the Harrison trust.”
He looked physically unsteady.
“You let me believe I built it.”
“You did build parts of it. I gave you an opportunity.”
“You lied.”
“I protected my identity.”
“From your husband?”
“From the man my husband might become.”
Candace took another step away from him.
Lenora noticed.
“So did she know?” Lenora asked.
Darnell said nothing.
Candace answered first.
“Know what?”
“That the money you helped him hide belonged to my family trust.”
May you like
Candace’s phone slipped slightly in her hand.
For the first time, she understood that the recording she made for entertainment might document a financial crime.
