Chapter 3 - THE FIRST PERSON GREGORY BLAMED WAS VIVIAN
Gregory called the police before Vivian did.
That decision almost worked.
He reported that his wife had attacked him during a marital argument and forced him from his residence.
By the time officers reached the condo, Gregory had a red mark on his cheek from hitting the floor and a sore shoulder from the arm lock.
Vivian had no visible injury except fingerprints beginning to darken around her wrist.
The security video mattered.
It showed the entire sequence.
Gregory kicking the table.
Walking toward Vivian.
Grabbing her wrist.
Raising his other hand.
Vivian turning.
Gregory falling.
Vivian controlling him.
No continued beating.
No kicking.
No pursuit after he stopped struggling.
The officers took statements.
Nobody declared a courtroom winner in the living room.
Gregory left.
Vivian documented her wrist at urgent care that evening on Leah’s advice.
Then she changed the condo entry code.
Not permanently against lawful access.
Temporarily while Leah worked through the correct process.
The marriage had lasted seventy-six hours.
Vivian sat alone in her kitchen staring at a ruined seafood lunch and wondered whether there was a national record for realizing you had made a catastrophic decision.
Leah arrived after midnight carrying coffee.
“You’re going to want everything to move fast.”
“Yes.”
“It won’t.”
“Excellent.”
“That was sarcasm.”
“I know.”
Leah sat.
They discussed a protective order.
Separation.
Property.
The police report.
Then VGM Procurement.
Samuel Price joined by video.
His first finding was straightforward.
Bellwether Dining had paid VGM Procurement seventeen times in eleven months.
The payments ranged from $18,000 to almost $71,000.
Descriptions included:
furniture sourcing;
custom lighting deposits;
design coordination;
imported stone;
acoustic materials;
and restaurant equipment procurement.
Vivian knew enough about design to notice something immediately.
“These amounts are too clean.”
Samuel nodded.
Real purchasing invoices usually carried odd freight charges, tax adjustments, deposits, balances.
These looked rounded.
“How much actually went to suppliers?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Where does VGM bank?”
“Lakefront Commercial.”
“Can we get records?”
“Not without authority.”
The company was not Vivian’s simply because her name appeared on documents.
That legal distinction frustrated her.
Then Samuel found a second problem.
VGM Procurement had been listed by Bellwether as a related design affiliate.
Not a random vendor.
An affiliate.
“What does that mean?”
Samuel read from an internal vendor note:
Preferred sourcing affiliate associated with Gregory Hale household design operations.
Vivian stared.
“My household?”
“That’s the description.”
“I wasn’t married to him.”
“You were dating.”
“Doesn’t make us a business.”
“No.”
Leah leaned forward.
“Who entered the note?”
Samuel shook his head.
“We need Bellwether records.”
Gregory’s attorney sent the first letter the next morning.
It accused Vivian of:
assault;
unlawful exclusion from the marital residence;
theft of Gregory’s personal documents;
and interference with Bellwether business relationships.
The final sentence demanded she stop contacting any vendor or lender connected to Gregory.
Leah smiled when she read it.
Vivian stared.
“What?”
“He is trying to tell you what not to look at.”
May you like
That was the first consequence Gregory had not expected.
His attempt to scare Vivian away from the business records gave her attorney a map of exactly where the pressure points might be.
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