Chapter 5 - The Integrity Inspection
By the fifth day, the "Integrity Inspection" was in full swing. My father’s contact at the bank had quietly frozen the joint accounts Grant thought he still controlled.
I sat in the parlor while Dad coordinated the strike. He used his connections to contact the board of the firm where Grant claimed to be a "Senior Associate." As it turned out, Grant was a glorified telemarketer who had been using the firm’s stationary to impress his mother and intimidate me.
"The firm is launching an internal investigation as we speak," Dad said, leaning back in his chair with a grim smile. "They don’t take kindly to unauthorized use of their branding for fraud. Grant isn't just going to lose his wife and his house; he’s going to lose his employment history."
Then came Evelyn. My father had reached out to the country club where she spent her days gossiping. He didn't make a scene; he simply sent a certified letter containing the financial records that proved Evelyn had been embezzling money from the club’s charitable scholarship fund to pay for her wardrobe.
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"She’ll be evicted from that club by tomorrow morning," Dad promised.
I watched him and felt a surge of awe. I had spent six months terrified of them, believing they were all-powerful. Now, I saw them for what they were: small, petty, and entirely fragile. They had only been strong because I had allowed them to be.
