The accounting team’s next report arrived on Wednesday morning, three days after Mauro admitted that he had been trying to keep his financial problems hidden. I was in my office reviewing a contract when Daniel called and asked me to come to the conference room. His voice was measured, but he did not sound as relaxed as he usually did when discussing routine business.
“I want you to see the documentation before we discuss the conclusions,” he said when I arrived.
Three folders lay on the table. One contained the original vendor invoices, another held the authorization records, and the third contained correspondence supplied through the formal review. Daniel had arranged the papers by date rather than by vendor, allowing us to compare the transactions against the financing agreement Mauro had signed.
I sat down and opened the first folder.
The payments were familiar. I recognized the descriptions from the preliminary report: consulting services, administrative support, market research, and project coordination. The amounts varied, and none was individually large enough to attract immediate attention. What had concerned the accounting team was the repetition, the missing supporting records, and the relationship between several vendors and Mauro’s outside business contacts.
The new documentation made the pattern clearer without answering every question.
“Several invoices still cannot be substantiated,” Daniel explained. “We have confirmation that the vendors received the payments, but we have not received sufficient evidence that all the services described were delivered. We are also verifying the ownership and control of the businesses involved.”
“Can we trace where the money went after the vendors received it?”
“For some transactions, yes. For others, the records are incomplete. We are working with the appropriate financial professionals to establish the destination of the funds.”
He turned to the second folder.
One payment had been approved through the user account associated with Mauro’s consulting access. The approval had occurred shortly before a deadline mentioned in the private financing correspondence. Another transaction had followed several days later, using a different vendor but carrying a similar description.
The timing was troubling.
“Does this establish that Mauro directed the money to his lender?” I asked.
“No. It establishes that the transactions occurred when he was under financial pressure. We have not yet established the final recipient of every payment, and we cannot infer that connection from timing alone.”
I nodded. It was precisely the distinction Veronica had insisted upon, and I was grateful that Daniel maintained it. I wanted the truth, not a convenient explanation that might collapse under scrutiny.
“Continue the trace,” I said. “Preserve the records and document any limitations.”
Daniel closed the folder. “There is another matter. Someone requested that we treat several of the disputed invoices as settled and remove them from the review. The request did not come with adequate supporting documentation.”
“Who made it?”
“The request was associated with a business communication connected to Mauro’s consulting work. We are verifying the sender before assigning responsibility.”
I felt my shoulders tighten.
“Was anything changed?”
“No. The accounting team declined to alter the records without proper authorization.”
“Good.”
I returned to my office with copies of the approved report. I did not call Mauro. I had already learned that asking him questions privately led to arguments about my lack of trust rather than clear explanations. If he had information relevant to the transactions, he could provide it through the formal process.
At eleven, Veronica called to discuss the findings.
“The report strengthens the basis for further investigation,” she said, “but it does not establish the complete financial picture. We need to be particularly careful about the distinction between an unsupported payment and a fraudulent one. The first is a documented accounting problem. The second requires additional evidence.”
“I understand.”
“We should also prepare for the possibility that Mauro will try to resolve the private debt by offering an explanation that conflicts with the company's records. If that happens, don't argue with him. Send the information to us.”
I looked through the glass wall at the employees working in the open office. They had no reason to be drawn into my marriage. They had come to work expecting their salaries to be paid, their projects to be managed, and their employer to remain stable.
“I'm not going to make promises on behalf of the company,” I said.
“Good. We also need to keep your personal dispute with Mauro separate from any corporate action. The company must respond to the evidence, not to your marital circumstances.”
After we ended the call, I went back to work. The afternoon was filled with ordinary decisions: a supplier needed revised delivery terms, a department head wanted approval for new software, and a client had questions about an upcoming deadline. I answered each one as carefully as I could.
It helped to remember that my life was larger than the investigation.
When I arrived home that evening, I found Patricia waiting in the living room. She had placed a folder on the coffee table and arranged several printed emails beside it. Mauro stood near the fireplace, looking exhausted. Jamie sat on the sofa, her phone held tightly in both hands.
Patricia pointed toward the chair opposite her.
“Sit down. We need to settle this before you cause any more damage.”
I remained standing. “If this concerns the company investigation, you need to speak with the company's counsel.”
“It concerns my son.”
“Then Mauro can explain his situation.”
She opened the folder and pushed a printed page toward me. It was a copy of a message from Adrian Cole’s counsel, requesting additional information about the financing agreement. Patricia had underlined a sentence about the need to verify representations made during the lending process.
“You see?” she said. “People are making demands. They're threatening him. You have the ability to stop this, but instead you're encouraging them.”
“I have not encouraged anyone to make a claim. The company is verifying its records.”
“Then tell them to stop!”
“I can't tell the accounting team to ignore a problem because my husband is involved.”
Patricia's face reddened. “You could pay the debt and make all this disappear.”
“How much is the debt?”
She hesitated.
“That's not the point.”
“Then you don't know what you're asking me to pay.”
Jamie leaned forward. “Why do you need to know every detail? You have enough money. Mauro is your husband. If he needs help, you help him.”
I looked at her.
“Would you be willing to sign a document accepting responsibility for a debt you haven't seen?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
Patricia stood abruptly. “You have become cruel.”
“No. I've become unwilling to sign blank checks.”
Mauro finally spoke. “That's enough, Mom.”
Patricia turned toward him, surprised. Jamie lowered her phone.
He looked at the papers on the table, then at me. “I don't want to discuss this in front of everyone.”
“Then you should have asked to speak privately before your mother presented me with a demand for payment.”
He swallowed, apparently struggling to find an answer that would not make the situation worse.
Patricia gathered the papers angrily. “Fine. You can all sit here and watch him lose everything. When people find out what has happened, don't expect me to defend either of you.”
She walked upstairs. Jamie followed, pausing in the doorway to give me a look of undisguised resentment.
Mauro remained by the fireplace.
For a moment, I thought he might apologize. Instead, he said, “You didn't have to embarrass my mother.”
“I didn't. I refused to pay a debt she couldn't explain.”
“She was trying to help.”
“Then she should help you face the facts instead of asking me to make them disappear.”
He looked down at his hands.
“I never thought it would reach this point.”
“Neither did I.”
He raised his head, and for a brief moment the anger left his face. What remained looked like fear, the kind he had spent years disguising with expensive clothes, confident speeches, and claims about his family's importance.
“I need more time,” he said.
“For what?”
“To work everything out.”
I took a breath. “You can work with your attorney, the lender, and the company investigators. You can explain the transactions and provide the documents they need. But you cannot expect me to reverse the card cancellation, pay an unverified debt, and pretend that the last few weeks never happened.”
He stared at me.
“Are you really going to divorce me?”
“I have told you that I am considering it. I haven't changed my position.”
He walked away without answering.
Later that night, Veronica emailed me a draft separation notice for review. It outlined the steps required to protect my interests while the financial matters were investigated. It did not determine the outcome of the divorce or make claims about Mauro’s responsibility for the company transactions.
I read it carefully and requested two minor clarifications.
Then I signed the acknowledgment confirming that I had reviewed the document.
For the first time, the next stage of my life existed on paper rather than only in my thoughts.
Click here to continue reading: PART 14: Mauro Offered to End the Marriage Quietly, but the Condition He Attached Revealed What He Feared Losing Most
He Stole My Platinum Card for a Luxury Vacation, Never Realizing the Woman He Threatened Had Already Prepared Her Final Move
Part 13 of 20
