Lucas continued rambling nervously over the speakerphone, completely unraveling his own lies.
“I had massive personal debts, Mom! I needed money desperately, which is why I took funds directly from the commercial account!”
“How much money?” Beatrice demanded, her voice cracking.
“A lot…”
I stepped forward and intervened directly into the call.
“It was nearly forty thousand dollars in unauthorized transfers and personal expenses, all of which are documented.”
Lucas went completely silent on the line.
One of Beatrice’s closest friends stood up and asked loudly.
“And what about that young girl you were boasting about earlier, Beatrice?”
Beatrice glared at her friend with pure rage, but Lucas was already caught in his own trap.
“Yes, there was someone else,” Lucas confessed miserably. “Part of the money went toward luxury hotel rooms, expensive gifts, and trips.”
A loud murmur of shock rippled through the gathered crowd. Beatrice seemed utterly incapable of processing that her own son was dismantling her entire fake empire in less than five minutes.
