“That is a ridiculous assertion,” he snapped his deep voice, filling the sterile room.
“Mr. Warren, I advise you to let me handle the questioning.
Sterling interjected quickly, recognizing the danger of a client speaking unprompted during a deposition.
But Warren waved his lawyer off with a look of pure disgust.
I do not need you to protect me from my own ungrateful daughter, Sterling.
I want this on the record.
I want her to hear exactly how powerful the man she is trying to cross truly is.
Malik shifted slightly in his chair next to me.
He gave me the briefest, almost imperceptible nod.
The fish had taken the bait.
Warren leaned forward, glaring at me with eyes full of venom and unrestrained arrogance.
You have absolutely no concept of how highlevel finance operates, Chloe.
You think because you sit in a cubicle doing basic math that you understand my empire.
I have never struggled to find liquid capital a single day in my life.
My commercial portfolio generates millions in passive revenue every single quarter.
$200,000 is pocket change to me.
It is a rounding error.
I let my voice tremble just a fraction more.
But Dad, I said softly.
If it was personal cash, why did you never mention withdrawing it from your private savings?
How did you get it to me?
I just do not remember.
I did not use my personal savings, you foolish girl.
Warren scoffed completely, ignoring the frantic hand gestures his lawyer was making under the table.
I operate with maximum tax efficiency.
My personal wealth is tied up in high yield offshore trusts.
When I funded your down payment on that Tuesday in October, I personally authorized a direct wire transfer from my primary corporate holding account.
The court reporter’s fingers flew across the stenograph capturing every single damning syllable.
I wired the funds directly from Warren Commercial Enterprises LLC.
My father boasted, leaning back in his leather chair with a smug, victorious grin.
I authorized the transfer from my corporate operating budget.
My accounting is absolutely pristine.
Every penny I move is thoroughly documented and shielded by corporate protections.
You are sitting in a house funded by my corporate empire, and you will surrender it to Todd and Jasmine today, or I will use that same corporate wealth to crush you into dust.”
A profound, heavy silence descended upon the conference room.
Jasmine was beaming, looking at our father with utter adoration.
Todd let out a long breath of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead, believing Warren had just masterfully put me in my place.
Sterling, however, had gone completely rigid.
The bulldog lawyer closed his eyes for a brief second, realizing his client had just made a catastrophic unforced error on the official legal record.
I did not break character.
I simply looked down at my hands, nodding slowly, as if entirely defeated by his aggressive display of wealth.
“Thank you for clarifying that for the record,” Mr. Warren Malik said, speaking up for the first time in an hour.
His voice was no longer that of a disorganized discount lawyer.
It was sharp, clear, and perfectly modulated.
We have no further questions regarding the origin of the funds at this time.
Warren had just handed me the keys to his own destruction by stating under oath that he used his primary corporate holding account to fund a personal real estate transaction for a family member.
He had legally pierced his own corporate veil.
He had explicitly tied his business entity to a fraudulent personal lawsuit.
He had committed perjury and he had just given my forensic accountants the absolute legal right to subpoena and audit every single ledger inside Warren Commercial Enterprises LLC.
I thought he was intimidating a broke daughter, but he had just gift wrapped his federal wire fraud conviction and placed it directly into my hands.
Sterling stood up so violently, his heavy leather chair slammed against the frosted glass wall of the conference room.
The loud thud echoed like a gunshot in the sterile space.
He did not ask for a recess.
He demanded one.
He grabbed my father by the elbow, his knuckles turning white, and physically guided the towering real estate mogul out into the hallway.
Jasmine huffed in annoyance, grabbing her designer purse and trailing right behind them, loudly, complaining to no one in particular that this deposition was going to make her late for her afternoon chemical peel.
The heavy glass door clicked shut, leaving exactly three people inside the freezing room.
Me, me, my attorney, Malik, and Todd.
Malik stood up slowly, stretching his arms over his head like a man who was getting paid by the hour to be completely useless.
