Enjoy Your Shiny New Prison Cell Chapter 2

Daisy stared at my raised hand, momentarily stunned.

"Ha! I knew it!"

She slammed her hand on the desk, stood up, and pointed a finger directly at my nose.

"Charlotte! I knew you were stealing!"

"You thought just because you were the registered agent for a few years, you could treat this company like your personal piggy bank?!"

The room erupted in whispers. Daniel's relatives leaned in toward each other, their eyes turning hostile.

"Did you actually bother to read the report?" I asked.

Daisy blinked.

I pointed to the bottom half of the invoice she was clutching.

"Look down. What does it say under 'Purpose'?"

Suspicious, she glanced down, her lips moving silently as she read. But she didn't speak.

So, I read it aloud for her. "Purpose: Personal advance for Apex Logistics, July inventory final payment. Funding source: Personal account of Charlotte Cross."

I looked her dead in the eye. "Last month, the suppliers were threatening to halt deliveries. The corporate account was empty. I used my own personal savings to cover the gap."

"The bank transfer records, the supplier receipts, and the internal accounting logs are all on file. Anyone can verify them."

Daisy's face hardened.

Three seconds later, her voice shrieked:

"Liar! You're a discarded wife about to be kicked to the curb! Where would you get a hundred thousand dollars?!"

"Personal savings? Your money is my brother's money!"

She worked herself into a frenzy, her finger practically poking my eye.

"You stole money from the company, fabricated a fake loan agreement, and then played the hero pretending you paid it! It's fraud! You're committing financial fraud!"

I took a slow, deep breath.

"Daisy, every single transaction in this company is audited. If you don't believe me, you can call the bank right now."

She stared at me for a few silent seconds before plumping back into her chair, her voice growing even louder and shriller:

"I don't care! Baby is the owner! What Baby says goes!"

She grabbed the hundred-thousand-dollar invoice and ripped it cleanly in half.

"Baby doesn't recognize this debt! If you paid it, that's your problem! The company doesn't owe you a single penny!"

I watched the torn paper flutter to the carpet. I said nothing.

Daisy stood up, addressing the entire room with theatrical grandeur.

"This hundred thousand dollars is now Baby’s Playground Fund! It's going to be used to reward the people who support Baby!"

She scanned the room, looking at the sycophants and relatives. "What do you all think of that?"

"Amazing!"

"Daisy is the best!"

"We love you, Baby!"

Amidst the cheers, the few loyal employees who had actually built this company with me kept their heads down, too terrified to speak up.

I took one last look at them.

"Daisy," I said quietly.

"What you just tore up was a photocopy. My lawyer has the original."

Daisy's face twitched.

"Lawyer? Who are you trying to scare! This is my company! Baby is the boss!"

Her voice pitched higher. "You think Baby won't get Big Brother to teach you a lesson?!"

The relatives chimed in instantly.

"Exactly. Why is a grown woman bullying a kid?"

"She just became the owner and you're already hounding her for money. Have some shame, Charlotte."

"Don't push it, Charlotte. Play nice, or you won't get a dime."

I looked around the room and decided to stay silent.

Seeing my silence, Daisy turned to the secretary at the door and screamed, "Go! Get my brother in here! Tell him there's a crazy woman bullying Baby!"

"Tell him to get his butt in here right now!"