Chapter 7 - THE UNCOVERED SCHEME
Over the weekend, as we prepared for the emergency court hearing, my attorney Eleanor requested a full financial audit of the shared accounts Evan and I held, as well as subpoenaing Janice’s financial records related to Kelly's household expenses.
What we discovered during discovery was far worse than a simple six-thousand-dollar credit card payoff.
On Sunday evening, Eleanor called me into her home office for an urgent review of the financial disclosures.
"Claire, you need to see this," Eleanor said, turning her computer monitor toward me.
The screen displayed a series of bank transfers from Janice’s primary account to a secondary account held jointly by Evan and Kelly over the last six months.
"What am I looking at?" I asked, frowning at the complex spreadsheet.
"Janice wasn't just paying off Evan's credit card," Eleanor revealed, pointing her pen at the highlighted line items. "Six months ago, Janice took out a reverse mortgage on her home, intending to fund a luxury daycare franchise that Kelly was supposed to manage."
I blinked in surprise. "Kelly? Managing a franchise?"
"Yes," Eleanor explained. "But Kelly failed the state licensing exams twice. She couldn't legally open the commercial facility. But Janice had already spent eighty thousand dollars of the loan on leased commercial space."
"So what did they do?"
"To avoid losing the commercial lease and defaulting on the loan, Janice and Kelly decided to run an unregistered, off-the-books home daycare out of Kelly's house," Eleanor stated gravely. "They were taking in cash payments from five neighborhood families to watch their toddlers during the week."
My jaw dropped in absolute shock. "Unregistered? An illegal daycare?"
"Yes," Eleanor confirmed. "Kelly had six toddlers in that house every single day. She was completely overwhelmed. Janice couldn't help because of her bad back. So, instead of hiring certified assistant staff—which would have destroyed their profit margin—they brought in Sophie every Wednesday to manage the children."
The full horror of the situation crashed over me like a tidal wave.
They hadn't just used my daughter to help out a tired sister-in-law. They had illegally trafficked my ten-year-old child into an uncertified, unsafe commercial operation to keep Janice's failed real estate investment afloat.
They were risking my daughter's safety, put her in legal jeopardy, and exploited her labor so three grown adults could profit off illegal cash payments.
"Does Evan know about the illegal daycare?" I whispered, my blood running hot with pure rage.
"Evan was receiving a fifteen percent 'management fee' transferred into his private account every Friday," Eleanor said, handing me the printed wire receipts. "He wasn't just aware of it, Claire. He was taking a cut of the profits."
I sat back in my chair, staring at the financial receipts.
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The grief and sadness I had been feeling over the end of my marriage instantly vanished, burned away by a cold, absolute determination.
"They aren't just losing custody, Eleanor," I said, my voice dropping into a razor-sharp tone. "They are going to answer to the law."
