Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 115

Chapter 115

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The envelope arrived at exactly 10:47 AM on a Tuesday morning. Marco’s secretary, Mrs. Henderson, knocked on his office door with trembling hands. She’d been with the company for fifteen years, and Marco had never seen her look so frightened.

“Mr. Hart? This just came by federal courier. They said it was urgent,”

Marco looked up from his computer screen, where he’d been reviewing the latest financial reports. The numbers weren’t good, but they weren’t catastrophic either. He was still fighting to keep the company stable after all the media attacks.

“Federal courier?” Marco frowned as he took the envelope. The return address made his blood run cold: “United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.”

His hands shook as he tore open the thick envelope. Inside were multiple documents, all bearing official government seals. The cover letter was brief and devastating:

*Hart Industries is hereby notified of a comprehensive regulatory review initiated by Senator Thomas Magnus’s office. All financial records, tax documents, and compliance materials must be made available for immediate inspection. This review will include but is not limited to: federal tax audits, government contract compliance verification, and financial transparency

assessments.*

Marco read the letter three times before the words fully sank in. Federal investigation. Tax audits. Compliance reviews. The very words that could destroy a company overnight.

“Sir?” Mrs. Henderson’s voice seemed to come from very far away. “Are you all right?”

starin

Marco couldn’t answer. He was at the signature at the bottom of the letter. Senator Thomas Magnus. The name meant nothing to him, but somehow this man had decided to tear his life apart.

“Cancel all my meetings for today,” Marco said finally, his voice hoarse. “And get James Rodriguez up here immediately.”

Mrs. Henderson nodded and hurried out, closing the door behind her with a soft click. Marco was alone with the documents that would either clear his name or bury him completely.

Twenty minutes later, James Rodriguez sat across from Marco’s desk, his face pale as he read through the government papers. Marco’s chief financial officer had always been unflappable, but now sweat beaded on his forehead.

“This is serious, Marco. Very serious.”

“How serious?”

James set down the papers and looked directly at his boss. “They’re going to examine every transaction we’ve made in the last five years. Every contract, every payment, every tax filing. They’ll have teams of investigators going through our books with microscopes.”

“Can we handle it?”

“Legally? Probably. But financially…” James shook his head. “This kind of investigation will cost us millions. We’ll have to hire teams of lawyers, accountants, compliance experts. Plus, all our government contracts will be frozen until the review is complete.”

Marco felt his chest tighten. “How much of our revenue comes from government contracts?”

“Thirty–eight percent.

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The number hit Marco like a physical blow. More than a third of their income, gone overnight. And that was before the investigation even began.

“There’s more,” James continued. “The IRS will be conducting simultaneous tax audits. They can freeze our accounts if they find any irregularities.”

“What kind of irregularities?”

James shifted uncomfortably. “Marco, you know there are some creative accounting methods we’ve used over the years.

Offshore transactions, shell company transfers, tax opthgization strategies. Nothing illegal, but…”

“But they could be interpreted as suspicious.”

“Exactly. And with this level of scrutiny, they will be.”

Marco stood up and walked to his window, staring down at the busy street below. People hurrying to lunch, living their normal lives, unaware that his world was crumbling forty stories above their heads.

“Who requested this investigation?”

“Senator Magnus. He chairs the oversight committee.”

“I’ve never heard of him. Why would he target us?”

James was quiet for a moment. “Marco, this feels coordinated. The timing, the scope, the way it’s structured. Someone with serious political connections wanted this to happen.”

Marco turned around, his

eyes sharp with suspicion. “Someone like who?”

“Someone who knows our

“Someone like Alexanderlities. Someone who understands how government pressure works.” James paused.

The name hit Marco like lightning. Of course. Alexander had connections everywhere. Business, politics, media. He’d orchestrated the newspaper stories that destroyed Marco’s reputation. Now he was using government power to finish the job.

“That bastard,” Marco whispered. “He’s using federal agencies as his personal weapons.”

“We can’t prove that. And even if we could, it doesn’t change our situation. We’re under investigation, and we have to respond.”

Over the next three hours, Marco’s office became a war room. Lawyers arrived with briefcases full of documents. Accountants spread financial records across every available surface. Phone calls flew back and forth as the company’s leadership tried to understand the full scope of what they were facing.

The news got worse with each passing hour.

The tax audit would examine seven years of returns, not just five. The compliance review would include labor practices, environmental regulations, and safety standards. The contract investigation would scrutinize every government deal they’d ever signed.

“It’s like they’re trying to find something wrong,” one of the lawyers said during a conference call. “This isn’t a routine audit. This is a fishing expedition.”

Marco wanted to scream that of course they were trying to find something wrong. That was the whole point. Alexander Kane wanted him destroyed, and he was using the full power of the federal government to do it.

By five o’clock, the initial damage assessment was complete. The investigation would cost Hart Industries approximately

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welve million dollars in legal and accounting fees. The frozen government contracts represented two hundred fifty million in lost revenue. And if the auditors found any significant problems, the penalties could reach into the hundreds of millions.

“We need to consider all options.” James said quietly as the lawyers packed up their documents.

“What kind of options?”

“Bankruptcy protection. Chapter II reorganization. Maybe even selling the company to avoid criminal liability.”

“No.” Marco’s voice was steel. “I’m not giving up. I built this company from nothing, and I’m not letting some political hack destroy it because my ex–wife’s boyfriend made a phone call”

James looked at him with concern. “Marco, you can’t fight the federal government. Nobody wins that kind of war.”

“Alexander Kane thinks he’s untouchable because he has political connections. But I have something he doesn’t.”

“What’s that?”

Marco smiled, and it was a cold, dangerous expression. “Desperation. And desperate men do things that careful men won’t.”

That evening, Marco sat alone in his study at home, surrounded by financial documents and legal briefs. Margaret had gone out with friends, claiming she needed to “get away from all the negativity.” His children were upstairs, probably talking about their mother’s upcoming wedding.

Everything in his life was falling apart, but Marco’s mind was clearer than it had been in months. The government investigation wasn’t random. The timing wasn’t coincidental. This was a coordinated attack designed to destroy him completely.

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