Chapter 4 - The House of Cards Collapses
Within two hours of the boardroom confrontation, the shockwaves reached Garrett Bennett in his downtown office.
He had been sitting at his desk, browsing online listings for high-end coastal vacation rentals, dreaming of the multi-million-dollar settlement he expected to extract from Naomi during Friday’s scheduled mediation. He pictured himself free from the woman he considered a boring corporate drone, stepping into a glamorous new life with Sienna.
His cell phone rang. It wasn’t Sienna. It was his lawyer, Marcus Vance, and he didn’t sound like a man about to win a case.
“Garrett,” Marcus said without a greeting. “We have a catastrophic problem.”
Garrett frowned, leaning back in his leather chair. “What are you talking about? Did Naomi reject the settlement terms? We’ll take her to court. She’s got deep pockets, we can drag it out—”
“Garrett, listen to me,” Vance interrupted sharply. “Your wife isn’t just some corporate manager at an investment firm. Bennett Capital Partners is her private equity firm. She’s the primary owner and managing director.”
Garrett froze. The phone slipped slightly in his sweaty palm. “What… what do you mean? Naomi works in finance, sure, but—”
“She bought TechVista Solutions last week, Garrett,” Vance shouted over the phone. “The company Sienna works for! And thirty minutes ago, Naomi fired Sienna with cause for corporate fraud and embezzlement. Sienna’s salary is gone. Her career in tech is effectively over. She’s facing potential criminal charges unless she pays back forty thousand dollars in fraudulent expenses.”
Garrett’s vision swam. The room seemed to tilt sideways. “Fired? Fraud? No, that’s impossible… Sienna told me—”
“Sienna lied to you, or she’s profoundly stupid, or both!” Vance snapped. “And it gets worse. Because Sienna was terminated for gross misconduct, she has zero income. Which means under the terms of your pending divorce, any financial support you promised her, any apartment leases you co-signed, any lifestyle you guaranteed—you are personally liable for 100% of it. Furthermore, because you used marital assets to fund your affair and your girlfriend’s extravagant lifestyle, Naomi’s legal team has filed an amended counterclaim under the marital waste provision.”
“A counterclaim… what does that mean for our settlement?” Garrett choked out, his breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps.
“It means,” Vance said coldly, “instead of walking away with half of Naomi’s portfolio, you are going to owe her money. Your business accounts are currently being audited by her forensic team. If you can’t prove your startup generated legitimate revenue this year, your personal assets—including your car, your savings, and your share of this office—are going to be seized to cover legal damages.”
The call disconnected with a sharp beep.
Garrett sat paralyzed in his office chair as the full, crushing weight of his stupidity settled over him. He had traded a brilliant, fiercely loyal, multi-millionaire wife who built an empire for a mediocre marketing employee with a fraudulent expense report and zero financial security.
His phone buzzed again. A text message from Sienna.
May you like
Garrett, where are you? The security guards threw me out of the building. My corporate cards are frozen, my apartment management is calling about the rent check bouncing, and my lawyer won’t answer my calls. What did you do?!
Garrett stared at the screen, his hands shaking violently. He didn’t reply. He put his head in his hands and finally, quietly, began to weep.
