Chapter 10 – Gillian's Secret
The courthouse emptied in silence.
Reporters rushed to file breaking updates.
Television crews speculated about Judge Matthews' postponed decision.
Lawyers disappeared into waiting vehicles.
But inside Jasper Collins' mind, only one image remained.
Hailey.
Standing outside the hospital.
Holding Toby.
Watching him drive away.
For the first time in years, he stopped asking himself how to save his company.
Instead, he asked a far more painful question.
How had I become that man?
He still didn't know the answer.
He was about to find out.
That evening, Jasper returned to the Collins family home.
The house felt strangely empty.
His father sat quietly in the study reading the newspaper.
His mother, Gillian, paced through the kitchen, furious after another day of negative media coverage.
The television played silently in the background.
Every business channel carried the same headline.
COLLINS TECHNOLOGIES UNDER INTENSIFIED REVIEW
The moment Jasper entered, Gillian spoke.
"I hope you're finally ready to fight."
Jasper looked exhausted.
"I'm tired, Mom."
"Tired?"
She laughed sharply.
"That woman is destroying your life."
"And you're sitting here feeling sorry for yourself?"
Jasper didn't answer.
Gillian slammed a folder onto the kitchen counter.
"I've already spoken to three public relations firms."
"We're going to tell the truth."
"What truth?"
"That Hailey's father is abusing his influence."
Jasper slowly looked up.
"No."
Gillian frowned.
"What do you mean, no?"
"I'm done blaming Hailey."
The room fell silent.
His father quietly closed the newspaper.
For months, he had watched his wife control every conversation.
Every decision.
Tonight felt different.
Gillian crossed her arms.
"You're letting her manipulate you."
Jasper shook his head.
"No."
"I manipulated myself."
"I just didn't realize it."
His words triggered something unexpected.
Fear.
For the first time, Gillian looked genuinely nervous.
The following morning, Collins Technologies' external auditors arrived.
Originally, they had been scheduled to perform a routine annual review.
After the funding suspension, the Board demanded a complete forensic audit.
Every invoice.
Every reimbursement.
Every executive expense.
Nothing would be overlooked.
Michael Harris, despite resigning, agreed to assist the auditors during the transition.
He walked them through years of financial records.
Most appeared normal.
Until one junior accountant frowned.
"Michael..."
"You should probably look at this."
The screen displayed hundreds of expense reimbursements.
Luxury shopping.
Private vacations.
Designer handbags.
Five-star resorts.
All charged to...
Business Development.
Michael frowned.
"That's impossible."
He clicked deeper.
Approval signatures appeared.
Electronic authorizations.
Corporate cards.
Expense reports.
The beneficiary's name appeared repeatedly.
Priscilla Collins.
Michael's expression darkened.
"When did she work here?"
The accountant looked confused.
"She didn't."
Another file.
More reimbursements.
Personal flights.
Luxury jewelry.
Spa memberships.
International shopping.
Again...
Company funds.
Again...
Approved.
The accounting team continued searching.
What began as isolated expenses quickly revealed a disturbing pattern.
For nearly four years...
Hundreds of thousands of dollars had quietly disappeared.
Each payment looked legitimate.
Small enough to avoid attention.
Consistent enough to become invisible.
Michael immediately called Jasper.
"You need to come in."
"Now."
Twenty minutes later, Jasper sat inside the finance department.
Stacks of documents covered the conference table.
Michael pushed one folder toward him.
"Recognize these?"
Jasper flipped through the pages.
His face slowly lost color.
"These..."
"They're my approvals."
"They're electronic approvals."
Michael nodded.
"They were submitted using your executive authorization."
"I never approved these."
"I believe you."
"But someone did."
The company's cybersecurity team joined the meeting.
After several hours of reviewing internal logs, they reached a troubling conclusion.
Most approvals had originated...
Not from Jasper's office.
But from the executive workstation inside the Collins family home.
His mother's home office.
Jasper stared silently.
"No."
The cybersecurity director continued carefully.
"The login credentials were yours."
"But the device fingerprint matches another computer."
Michael looked up.
"Can someone access his credentials?"
The director nodded.
"If they knew his password."
A memory suddenly surfaced.
Years ago...
His mother had insisted on organizing all his personal documents.
"I'll remember your passwords."
"You work too much."
"It'll make life easier."
At the time...
He had thanked her.
Now...
His stomach turned.
That evening, Jasper confronted Gillian.
He entered her home office carrying the audit reports.
She barely looked up.
"How did court go?"
He threw the documents onto her desk.
"What are these?"
She glanced at them.
Her expression didn't change.
"What do you mean?"
"Company reimbursements."
"My passwords."
"My approvals."
Her eyes narrowed.
"I was helping you."
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars?"
"You call that helping?"
Gillian stood.
"I sacrificed everything for this family."
"I deserved something."
"You stole from my company."
"I protected your company!"
She shouted.
"You would've wasted money anyway."
"I simply redirected it."
Jasper couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You forged my signature."
"You used my accounts."
"I used my son's accounts."
She corrected coldly.
"It's family money."
"No."
Jasper whispered.
"It wasn't."
"It belonged to my employees."
Before either could speak again...
Another voice interrupted.
"I think there's more."
Both turned.
Priscilla stood in the doorway.
Her face had gone completely pale.
She had heard everything.
Jasper looked at her.
"Did you know?"
She hesitated.
Then quietly nodded.
"I thought Mom had your permission."
"You spent company money."
"I..."
She couldn't finish.
Jasper opened another folder.
Luxury boutiques.
European vacations.
A sports car lease.
Designer watches.
Everything paid through shell vendor accounts.
Every payment ultimately traced back...
To Priscilla.
"You told me you paid for these yourself."
Priscilla began crying.
"Mom said it was part of your executive compensation."
Jasper laughed bitterly.
"My executive compensation?"
"She said successful CEOs hide expenses this way."
"I believed her."
His father slowly sat down.
For years, he had ignored the warning signs.
The extravagant lifestyle.
The unexplained spending.
The constant interference.
Now the truth lay scattered across the dining table.
Jasper looked at his mother.
"How long?"
Gillian answered quietly.
"Almost five years."
His knees nearly gave way.
Five years.
While he believed he was building a company...
His own family had been quietly draining it.
The next morning, the forensic auditors completed their preliminary findings.
The report listed multiple irregularities requiring legal review.
Potential corporate fraud.
Unauthorized reimbursements.
Identity misuse.
Possible tax violations.
Michael closed the file.
"We're legally obligated to report this."
Jasper nodded slowly.
"I know."
Across town, at Robertson Global, Daniel Carter entered Finnley's office.
"The Collins audit uncovered financial misconduct."
Finnley wasn't surprised.
"Internal?"
"Yes."
"Family members."
Finnley looked out the window.
"I suspected greed."
"I didn't realize it was this deep."
That afternoon, Jasper voluntarily delivered every audit document to the company's outside counsel.
"I want everything investigated."
The attorney looked surprised.
"Everything?"
"Everything."
"No exceptions."
As the lawyers reviewed the evidence, one of them suddenly looked up.
"Mr. Collins..."
"I'm required to advise you that these findings may involve criminal statutes."
Jasper nodded.
"I understand."
The attorney reached for the telephone.
Across the conference room, Michael quietly closed his laptop.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
The decision had already been made.
Within minutes...
Formal notifications were sent to the Economic Crimes Division requesting an official investigation into suspected corporate fraud.
As the confirmation email disappeared into the system, Jasper realized something almost unbearable.
The people he had trusted most...
Had not only helped destroy his marriage.
They had been stealing from the company he spent years trying to build.
Outside, police investigators were already receiving the case file.
And for the Collins family...
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The next chapter would no longer be fought in boardrooms or family court.
It would begin with criminal investigators walking through the front door.
