He opened a folder thick with documents. “He’s been siphoning funds for years. Corporate cards for personal expenses, ghost vendors, fake invoices. But it gets worse, Mrs. Carter. The company is a shell. He has debts with suppliers, three unfinished projects, and two active lawsuits for fraud. He owes the IRS back taxes for three years.”
“How much?”
“In total? Including personal debts? About one point five million dollars.”
I put my hand over my mouth. “He’s broke.”
“Technically, yes. He’s robbing Peter to pay Paul. He recently took a massive advance from a government contract for low-income housing—five million dollars. He built forty houses and pocketed the rest. That investigation is heating up. My sources say the District Attorney is preparing an indictment. It’s going to explode. Maybe in six months, maybe sooner.”
I stared at the documents. The sheer scale of the deception was nauseating. Robert Harrison wasn’t just a cheater; he was a criminal. He was playing the role of a tycoon while standing on a trapdoor.
“What do I do?” I asked, my voice trembling.
Mark leaned back. “If you tell your son now, he might cancel the wedding. It would save him legally, but it might destroy his relationship with Sarah if she doesn’t believe it. If you confront Harrison, he’ll deny it and destroy you. He has lawyers; you don’t.”
