Chapter 2
For the next three days, I acted like nothing was wrong and kept my mouth shut.
During the day, I went to work, handled approvals, and watched over the shipments like always.
At night, I came home and cooked dinner, just like usual.
But behind the scenes, I was investigating.
I logged into the company's internal chat system using Richard's employee ID.
I had admin privileges, but he didn't know.
I went through his chat history, message by message.
I scrolled all the way down to the very beginning and found the oldest record.
It started eight years ago.
Jessica: [Hi, Mr. Coleman. I'm Jessica Lane, the new intern. I look forward to working with you.]
Richard: [Welcome. If you have any questions, just ask me.]
That year, Jessica was a senior-year intern.
That year, Richard and I had only been married for six months.
Only six months.
I kept going.
Third month of Jessica's internship.
Richard: [Want to grab dinner tonight? There's a new restaurant near the office.]
Jessica: [Sure, Mr. Coleman. But I don't know how to peel shrimp. LOL.]
[I'll peel them for you.]
"I'll peel them for you." He never said that to me.
I kept digging.
Fifth month of Jessica's internship.
Richard: [Your internship's over? Not staying?]
Jessica: [I want to, but there's no full-time spot.]
[I'll talk to HR.]
The next day, Jessica was made full-time.
I checked the approval records from back then.
I signed off on her full-time status.
I signed it. Me.
I even wrote in the notes: [Good performance. Approved.]
I couldn't help but laugh.
Eight years ago, I personally approved her.
Eight years ago, she was already having dinner with my husband.
It had only been six months.
So that meant by the time Richard and I got married, he was already peeling shrimp for Jessica.
While I was standing in my wedding dress at the hotel, he was already out having dinner with another woman.
It had been eight years.
This wasn't something that just started recently.
It wasn't a "one-time mistake."
It was from start to finish.
From the first day to the eighth year.
More than 1,400 shrimp. Not a single one for me.
*****
Richard had no clue I'd already exported his entire bank transaction history over the past eight years.
But that was just a piece of the puzzle.
The real mess was buried deep in the company accounts.
I spent a full week combing through every financial record we had.
Every single "Mr. Coleman's private order" placed through the procurement system.
Over the eight years, it wasn't just shrimp.
There was expensive fruit, luxury ingredients, high-end beef, wine, and so on.
All of it went through company procurement and was delivered to Unit 1702, Building 3, Lakeview Gardens.
In three years, those private orders totaled 310,000 dollars.
Then came the reimbursements.
I used to never bother checking Jessica's expense reports.
But now, I went through every single one.
About the business trip hotel expenses.
Jessica was the Administrative Director, but her travel standard was a luxury suite in a five-star hotel.
I matched up every trip date with Richard's schedule.
Perfect match.
Every single time, whenever Jessica was "on a business trip", so was Richard.
She stayed in a luxury suite, but Richard's room had never been used.
Because they were sharing the same room.
Business trips, transportation, entertainment, and so on. Jessica racked up 290,000 dollars in company reimbursements over three years.
All approved by Richard.
His signature was all it took, because he was the legal representative.
And then, the biggest one. Equity.
I found it in the corporate filing history.
One year ago, Richard transferred 30% of the company's shares to Jessica.
The transfer price was one dollar.
One dollar.
Our company was valued at 6 million dollars.
30% meant 1.8 million dollars.
He gave it away for a dollar.
I had no idea.
No one told me.
Because the legal rep could transfer equity on their own.
No spouse's signature needed for that.
But this was marital property.
This transfer was illegal.
I added up all the numbers.
Bank transfers: 693,000 dollars.
Private procurement orders: 310,000 dollars.
Expense reimbursements: 290,000 dollars.
Equity transfer (by valuation): 1.8 million dollars.
Mortgage (three years): 108,000 dollars.
Car payment: 60,000 dollars.
Other spending: 24,000 dollars.
Total: 1,485,000 dollars.
Without the equity, it was about 1.5 million.
With the equity, it'd be over 3 million.
I was the one who built the company.
I was the one who watched the shipments at the docks at three in the morning.
I earned the money by working myself into a herniated disc.
1.5 million dollars had been handed over to an "Administrative Director" who showed up at ten, left at four, and sometimes didn't even bother to show up.
I printed out the numbers.
The whole list ran to 57 pages.
Every entry had a date, amount, recipient, and purpose.
I stuffed all 57 pages into a file folder.
The folder was thick and heavy.
It was the weight of 1.5 million dollars.
*****
I called my best friend from college.
Her name was Sophia Grant. She was a lawyer.
"Nancy?" she picked up. "What's got you calling me out of the blue?"
"I'm getting a divorce," I said.
There was a second of silence on her end.
"Start from the top."
I did. I told her about the 'Mr. Coleman's private order' on the purchase sheet, and the house at Lakeview Gardens.
About the eight-year-old chat logs, and the one-dollar equity transfer.
About the 693,000 dollars, and the 1.5 million.
Sophia didn't say anything for a long time after hearing everything.
"Nancy, Richard did the equity transfer without your okay. That's unauthorized disposal of marital assets. You can get it overturned," she said.
"I know," I replied.
"And the company money he used for himself? If you press charges, that's embezzlement."
"I know that too."
"So what's your plan?"
"I'm not rushing."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'm not in a hurry to lay it all out."
Sophia paused again. "So what are you up to?"
"Richard handed 30% of the company to Jessica. But the real value isn't the company itself. It's the clients and suppliers."
"Right."
"All the client relationships are mine. I'm the contact on every supplier contract. The core team? They follow me, not Richard."
"You're going to—"
"I'm going to reclaim everything that's mine before I walk away."
"How?"
"I've spent the last three months setting up a new company, Shaw Seafood Co. I'm the legal representative."
I heard Sophia suck in a breath.
I went on, "The core client contracts are almost up for renewal. I've already given them a heads-up. When the time comes, they won't renew with Coleman Seafood Co. They'll sign with Shaw Seafood Co."
"What about the suppliers?" Sophia asked.
"The boat captains at the docks have been with me eight years. All it takes is one call from me, and they'll switch over."
"And the employees?"
"I've already talked to Jayla. The twelve key people are coming with me."
Sophia laughed. "Nancy, you're savage."
"I'm not finished yet."
"There's more?"
"I need a favor."
"Shoot."
"Help me find Jessica's boyfriend."
"She has a boyfriend?"
"Yeah. I checked her social media. There's a guy named Brian Carter. He's always with her. Jessica has another social media account, and it has blocked Richard."
"What do you want with Brian?"
"I want to see what Jessica's been telling him."
"If what she's been telling him is..."
"Exactly."
"You want proof Jessica's been using Richard from day one."
"That's right."
Sophia was quiet for five seconds. "I'll help you find him."
"Thanks."
"One more thing."
"What?"
"Is Richard about to land that big Golden Bay Grand Hotel order next month?"
"How'd you know?"
"You mentioned it before. 1.5 million dollar annual contract."
"Yeah. Golden Bay Grand Hotel is our biggest potential client. Richard's been chasing it forever."
"Let him sign."
"What?"
"Let him sign. Let him think he's the hero. Let him believe he can make it without you."
I laughed. "You're even more ruthless than me."
"Lawyer's occupational hazard."
"Alright. I'll let him sign."
Richard wanted to play boss, so I'd let him be the real boss for once.
Let's see what he could deliver without me running Coleman Seafood Co.