Chapter 7 - Julian Knew More
Julian asked to meet me.
His criminal attorney arranged request through my divorce lawyer.
I said no.
Then he sent letter.
I almost burned.
Instead I gave to attorney first.
No threats.
I read.
Valerie,
I loved you.
Past tense.
Then:
I know that sentence means almost nothing now.
Correct.
He wrote:
My father encouraged me to meet you because of Sterling. I did not know full reason at first.
Then:
Once I fell in love with you, I told myself that made how we met irrelevant.
It did not.
Then:
I knew about vendor payments. I did not know exact fifteen year total.
Likely.
Then:
I knew some invoices were fake.
There.
Then:
I approved them.
Then:
I knew Dad wanted access to your wedding gift. I told him no. Then when Vance margin call came due and he said hundreds of employees could lose jobs if we defaulted, I convinced myself moving money for forty eight hours was temporary.
Temporary.
Always.
Then:
I copied your signature.
My hand shook.
Direct admission in letter before plea.
His attorney must have approved? Maybe foolish. Could be proffer later. Better this letter may be intended settlement and privileged? But he can confess personally. To maintain plausibility, his attorney wouldn't let him admit crime in letter. Let's revise: He writes carefully "I allowed a transfer I knew you had not approved." That's enough but still admission. Could be against counsel. Some defendants do. We'll use.
“I allowed the transfer even though you had not approved it.”
Then:
“I believed I could replace it before you noticed.”
Then assault.
No excuse.
“I slapped you because you made me feel exposed in front of my family.”
That line hurt.
Not because anger.
Exposure.
Then:
“When you caught my wrist, I realized I had become exactly what I told myself I was not.”
Then:
“I am sorry.”
I stopped.
Then final:
“Please do not let my father convince anyone that you destroyed us. We did.”
That was the only useful sentence.
I gave letter to prosecutor.
No secrecy.
Then Julian entered plea negotiations on misdemeanor assault first.
He pleaded guilty.
He admitted striking me.
Received probation, mandatory intervention program, protective order, fine, no jail on that charge due no prior violent conviction and injury limited.
Some people online would call weak if public.
I did not care.
Financial charges were coming.
Then Fernando’s assault on Beatrice.
He claimed she lost balance after he moved toward her.
Video?
The penthouse had living room security camera for art insurance.
Fernando had forgotten.
It captured shove.
Clear.
He pleaded not guilty initially.
Later guilty to felony assault because concussion and laceration? New York classification depends injury. Let's say "a state assault charge" without exact degree. Sentencing later.
Then Monica.
She still denied everything.
Her lawyer argued Beacon Shore provided legitimate consulting.
Forensic team found no work product.
Monica produced binders.
Reports.
Some plagiarized from Sterling documents.
One created after subpoena.
Metadata.
Obstruction.
She had backdated files after wedding.
That was current crime.
Then computer forensic.
Deleted folder:
CLEANUP JAN.
She had begun deleting vendor correspondence after Beatrice hospital.
Why?
“Privacy.”
No.
Recoverable.
Then one email between Monica and Fernando sent two weeks before wedding:
MONICA:
Julian is getting cold feet about residence transfer.
FERNANDO:
He’ll do it.
MONICA:
And Valerie proxy?
FERNANDO:
After honeymoon.
My stomach dropped.
After honeymoon.
So proxy draft was not idle.
They planned to ask or coerce? How?
No evidence physical plan.
Fernando believed marriage would make me amenable.
Monica wrote:
She won’t sign anything blind.
Fernando:
Everyone signs when there’s enough at stake.
That philosophy.
Then Julian’s response when confronted by investigators:
He knew draft existed.
Did he intend use?
He said:
“I told them it was impossible.”
Why file on his tablet?
Monica emailed.
He opened.
Did not delete.
No execution.
Prosecutors did not charge attempted share theft without sufficient overt act beyond draft? Maybe conspiracy could include. But they focused stronger counts.
Then marriage motive.
Did Julian propose because scheme?
Messages with friend Mark suggested real love.
But father pressure accelerated.
One text:
MARK:
You’re really marrying Sterling girl?
JULIAN:
Valerie. Yes.
MARK:
Your dad must be thrilled.
JULIAN:
That’s the part that makes me want to cancel.
Then:
MARK:
So cancel?
JULIAN:
I love her.
He chose marriage because love.
He also knew family wanted it for money.
Both.
Then I asked myself:
If he had refused transfer, would I have forgiven hidden vendor fraud?
Probably not.
If he had never slapped me?
Still divorce.
Maybe slower.
The slap clarified.
It did not create financial betrayal.
Then Gonzalo found a new trail.
A vendor named North Harbor Mechanical.
Real company.
Its owner had died seven years earlier.
After death, invoices continued.
Someone created a second bank account using similar name.
Payments:
$1.7m.
Beneficiary eventually:
Mar Azul.
Who created account?
Signature on bank opening documents:
Fernando Vance.
But supporting board resolution supposedly signed by Daniel Sterling.
My father.
Forgery.
The Vances had not only skimmed vendor spreads.
May you like
They had been fabricating Sterling corporate approvals.
That raised the case to another level.
