Chapter 3 - THE EMPLOYEES THEY CALLED UNGRATEFUL.
Derek said the pension claim was another example of Sophia being manipulated by people who wanted access to Ashford money.
He described the workers as disgruntled servants who had enjoyed housing, healthcare, and generous wages for decades.
Margaret recognized the language because she had used it herself.
The Ashfords described employment as charity whenever employees demanded what had been promised.
They called loyalty a family value while keeping every worker dependent on company-owned homes, company insurance, and private recommendations.
Sophia had spent six months reviewing payroll records after Rosa Delgado, the senior housekeeper, received a pension statement showing less than half the amount her late husband had earned.
Derek told Sophia the loss came from market conditions.
The internal ledgers showed something else.
Money had been moved from employee retirement accounts into an investment company controlled by Derek.
That company purchased the vineyard, restored the cellar, and funded the family celebration taking place upstairs.
The polished oak racks surrounding them had been paid for with money taken from cooks, drivers, gardeners, and maids.
Sophia refused to remain silent.
Derek responded by calling her ungrateful.
Margaret asked to see the ledgers.
Sophia pointed toward the overturned chair.
A small flash drive had fallen beneath it.
Before anyone could reach it, Derek stepped forward.
Security blocked him.
The humiliation cut deeper than physical restraint.
Derek had grown up watching guards open doors for him.
Now those same men stood between him and the evidence.
He turned on Margaret.
“You are choosing staff over your own son.”
Margaret answered quietly.
“I am choosing the truth over the person who stole from them.”
Rosa arrived from the main house with several employees behind her.
She had worked for the Ashfords for thirty-one years but had never before entered the wine cellar as a guest.
Derek told her to leave.
Rosa did not move.
Sophia handed her the flash drive.
Rosa inserted it into the cellar computer.
The pension records appeared on the wall monitor.
One transfer carried Margaret’s electronic authorization.
She stared at the screen.
“I never approved this.”
Derek’s expression changed.
May you like
Then Rosa opened the authorization history.
The transfer had been confirmed using Margaret’s fingerprint.
