“David, wait! The doctor is making a mistake! It’s just a growth spurt!” she sobbed, her voice high and desperate.
Dr. Aris shook his head. “Medicine doesn’t have ‘growth spurts’ that skip an entire month of gestation, Miss Allison. The measurements are indisputable.”
Megan lunged forward, her face twisted. “You lying little tramp! You used this baby to get him to buy that condo! You used us!”
In the middle of the chaos, David’s phone began to vibrate again. But it wasn’t a lover’s call this time. It was Andrew, his Chief Financial Officer. David answered, his hand trembling.
“What?” he hissed.
“David, we have a catastrophe,” Andrew’s voice was frantic. “Three of our primary corporate partners just sent termination notices. They’re severing all contracts effective immediately.”
David felt the floor tilt. “Why? We have a ten-million-dollar project in the pipeline!”
“They said they received an anonymous dossier,” Andrew stammered. “Documented proof of fund misappropriation. They’re calling it ‘ethical breach.’ And David… the IRS just pulled up to the lobby.”
David dropped the phone. The sound of it hitting the linoleum was like a gunshot. He looked at Allison, then at his sister, then at the doctor. The world he had built on a foundation of lies was dissolving in real-time.
“The condo,” David whispered, a cold dread coiling in his gut. “I signed the papers for that luxury condo using company capital as a ‘draw.’ If the IRS is there…”
“Mister David?” a nurse interrupted, her voice cool. “We tried to process the payment for today’s VIP session. The card was declined. It says ‘Account Frozen by Court Order.’”
David grabbed the card from her hand, his eyes bloodshot. “That’s impossible! I have half a million in that liquid account!”
He fumbled with his mobile banking app. The screen flashed a red notification that felt like a death sentence: ACCOUNTS RESTRICTED. APPLICANT: CATHERINE COLEMAN. REASON: PENDING LITIGATION FOR ASSET DISSIPATION.
