Chapter 4: The Secrets of the Prescott Group
By Tuesday morning, the war had moved from the society pages to the financial markets.
Hale Enterprises was the primary investor in Paul Prescott’s newest development—a luxury high-rise project on the West Side Highway called The Meridian. We held forty percent of the equity and sixty percent of the construction debt.
Marcus Vance entered my study at 9:00 a.m., setting a thick black binder on my desk.
"You were right to look under the floorboards, Mr. Hale," Marcus said, pulling up a chair. "The Prescott Development Group is a house of cards. Paul Prescott has been moving funds from The Meridian escrow account to cover losses on three failing commercial properties in New Jersey. It’s classic embezzlement, hidden behind complex shell companies managed by his daughter's firm."
I opened the binder. The spreadsheets were clear. Madison wasn't just a high-society bride; she was the chief financial officer for her father's company. She had personally signed the fraudulent transfer authorizations.
"They needed this wedding, didn't they?" I murmured, my eyes scanning the forged lien waivers.
"They desperately needed it," Marcus confirmed. "The marriage contract included a five-million-dollar cash gift from you to Trevor upon the completion of the ceremony. Madison had already scheduled a wire transfer of that exact amount to a bridge loan provider in Zurich to stop a foreclosure filing on her family’s estate. When you revoked the funding at the altar, you pulled the pin on their entire grenade."
A quiet knock sounded on the door, and Catherine walked in.
She was wearing a simple cream sweater, her hair tied back in a neat silver clip. She looked fragile, but the hollow look in her eyes had been replaced by something steady and resilient. She carried two cups of black coffee, setting one on my desk.
"Ray," she said, her hand resting on my shoulder. "Paul Prescott is downstairs in the drawing room. He didn't come with guards. He looks like a man who hasn't slept in three days."
I looked up at her. "Do you want me to send him away, Cathy?"
"No," she said, her voice soft but firm. "I want to hear what he has to say. But I want to be in the room this time."
We walked down to the drawing room together. Paul Prescott was pacing near the tall French windows, his tailored suit wrinkled, his tie missing entirely. When he saw Catherine, he stopped dead, his face falling into an expression of raw, unmitigated panic.
"Catherine," he said, stepping forward, his hands extended. "I am so sorry. What Madison did... it was unconscionable. She’s high-strung, she was out of her mind with stress—"
"Save it, Paul," I said, stepping between him and my wife. "We’ve seen the ledger sheets for The Meridian. We know about the Zurich loan. We know your daughter is a criminal who belongs in a federal penitentiary."
Paul collapsed onto the sofa, burying his face in his hands. "If you pull the construction debt, Ray, my company goes under by Friday. The bank will seize my house. My family will be ruined."
"Your daughter should have thought about that before she treated my wife like dirt on her shoes," I said coldly.
"She didn't know!" Paul cried out, looking up with tears in his gray eyes. "She thought you were soft, Ray! She thought Trevor had you wrapped around his finger! She thought the Hale fortune was already hers, and she could do whatever she wanted!"
Catherine stepped forward then, her gentle face holding a dignity that money could never buy.
"I don't want your money, Paul," she said quietly. "And I don't want your ruin. But my son is currently sitting in a downtown apartment with a woman who will destroy what's left of his soul. I want the truth out. I want everyone to see what she is before she takes him down with her."
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"I’ll give you whatever you want," Paul begged, looking at me. "Just don't file the fraud report with the DA. Give me thirty days to restructure."
"You have twenty-four hours," I said. "Bring me the signed confessions from Madison regarding the escrow transfers. And then, you and your daughter are going to make a public statement. Not to Page Six. To the board of directors."
