Lorraine Went to War
Had Owen’s family simply stayed quiet, things might have unfolded much more slowly.
Lorraine made that impossible.
By Tuesday afternoon, she had posted a fourteen-minute video online.
She never used my full name.
But she described me as a “greedy little gold digger” who had married her son for money and abandoned him after “he finally stood up to her.”
She claimed I stole property from their home.
She claimed I had been cheating.
She claimed I had fabricated an assault because Owen was about to become wealthy.
Most importantly, she said something very useful.
“My son barely touched her. He gave her one slap because she was screaming in his mother’s face. And now suddenly she wants to destroy his reputation?”
The video received thousands of views.
Lorraine later deleted it.
My investigator had already downloaded it.
By Wednesday, my doctor had completed a report documenting bruising on my wrist, hip, cheek, and lip.
By Thursday, police had interviewed Derek.
Derek tried to minimize what happened.
Unfortunately for Owen, Derek had sent a voice note to his girlfriend at 1:07 a.m. after the wedding.
She voluntarily provided it to investigators.
In the recording, he admitted that Owen had hit me and that Lorraine had encouraged him.
That was considerably more difficult to explain away.
I filed a police report.
Naomi filed a civil battery claim.
She also sent Lorraine a preservation notice regarding her online statements.
Friday morning, Price Dynamics’ largest transportation client requested an emergency ethics review after discovering Lorraine’s video.
Another client delayed signing a renewal.
A reporter emailed the company for comment.
And Monroe Alder’s legal department received notice that Price Dynamics’ chief executive was the subject of a documented domestic violence complaint originating before he signed our disclosure certification.
At 11:20 a.m., Adrian called an emergency meeting.
At 11:47, Monroe Alder froze the remaining investment.
At 12:05, our attorneys demanded return of the bridge funds under the contractual clawback provision.
At 12:19, Owen began calling.
First Adrian.
Then legal.
Then investor relations.
Then Adrian again.
At 12:34, he left a voicemail demanding to know how the company could possibly be losing an eight-million-dollar deal because of what he called a “private marital argument.”
At 12:52, he demanded to speak directly to Monroe Alder’s managing partner.
Adrian finally replied.
“She’ll see you at two.”
Owen had no idea who “she” was.
At two o’clock, everything he believed about his wife was about to collapse.
