By the time the sun began to set over the Atlantic, David’s office in Midtown Manhattan looked like a crime scene. IRS agents were systematically boxing up hard drives and ledgers. Megan and Linda sat in the lobby, their designer handbags looking suddenly pathetic against the backdrop of an active federal audit.
David stood in the center of his office, watching as they seized his computer. “Andrew, tell me there’s a mistake,” he pleaded.
Andrew didn’t even look up from his own desk. “There’s no mistake, David. They have everything. Every transfer to Allison’s personal account. Every wire for the condo. They even have the surveillance footage from the real estate brokerage where you signed the papers.”
“How?” David gasped. “I was careful.”
“You weren’t careful,” a new voice spoke. Steven, my attorney, walked into the office with a calm, predatory grace. He held a silver tablet. “You were arrogant. You thought your wife didn’t understand the books because she didn’t talk about them. You forgot that Catherine has a Master’s in Forensic Accounting. She was doing your books long before you could afford a CFO.”