- 9 hours ago
The Waldorf Secret SM
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:02shut up my billionaire father kept a secret mistress and told my mom accept it or i'll
00:08divorce you and leave you with nothing but he forgot one tiny detail my clueless housewife
00:13mother was actually the most ruthless cpa in the state she didn't just file for divorce
00:18she froze his accounts exposed his 18 million dollar fraud and sent him straight to federal
00:24prison richard's phone buzzed on the kitchen island still plugged in to charge he shouted
00:29for me to get it i picked up the phone from the charger and glanced at the closed bathroom door
00:34hello is your sister sterling he's in the shower i'm his daughter who is this this is guest services
00:39at the grand elitium resort we're just doing a routine follow-up about your stay in our family
00:43suite last night we just wanted to check in did the three-year-old boy with your party have any
00:48more allergic reactions to the peanut-free pastries we provided my stomach dropped the phone felt like
00:53a block of ice in my hand my dad is 55 my mom is 52 i am an only child
00:59i just turned 24
01:01and last weekend my dad told my mom he was flying out to san francisco for a closed-door real
01:07estate
01:07summit who was on the phone my pulse hammered against my throat i shoved my trembling hands
01:14into my pockets telemarketer i hung up i forced the words past the lump in my throat he walked over
01:20to the mirror and casually smoothed some moisturizer over his face where's your mother ran to the
01:27butcher for some ribes she said you had a brutal week traveling and wanted to grill steaks tonight
01:31i stared at the back of his head she always takes good care of me three days of back-to
01:40-back meetings
01:40in san francisco really took it out of me the grand elitium resort wasn't in san francisco
01:46it was a 20 minute drive away right here in the local coastal hills dad
01:54yeah
01:57where did you stay in san francisco my company has an off-site there next month
02:01thought i'd ask for hotel reps his hand froze on his cheek for a fraction of a second
02:08just some standard business hotel the organizers booked nothing special
02:12when you go i'll book you a five-star place don't stay in those dumps
02:16he was lying i didn't push it i turned and walked out of the master bedroom back in my room
02:22i pulled
02:22up the statement for the authorized user card on my dad's account i majored in finance most of the
02:27family's electronic statements were routed to my email i opened last month's transaction history and
02:31scrolled down line by line last saturday eight thousand eight hundred dollars merchant the grand
02:36alicia resort dining and entertainment it wasn't just last week on the 14th of last month valentine's
02:42day a charge of twenty three thousand dollars merchant lumimico fine jewelry the gift my mom
02:47received that day was a twenty dollar bouquet of grocery store carnations my legs gave out and i
02:53collapsed into my desk chair
02:58richard chloe come help me with these bags come help me with these bags a second later i heard the
03:06front door unlock mom was home with groceries i took a deep breath and forced myself out of the
03:12room why'd you buy so much you're gonna throw your back out next time wait till i'm home to carry
03:19this
03:19stuff for you richard had already beaten me to it taking the heavy paper bags from her hands
03:25you had a long trip besides chloe loves grilled ribeye watching this picture perfect marriage play out
03:33bile rose in the back of my throat i had to look away the air in san francisco is so
03:38dry i picked up
03:39that limited edition fleur-de-lis skincare set you like try it tonight eleanor patted his arm and told
03:46him he shouldn't have spent so much during dinner richard kept refilling my mom's wine glass after dinner
03:51richard went to his home office to check emails using a cup of coffee as an excuse i pushed open
03:57the door to his home office i pushed open the door to his home office he was typing away at
04:01his computer
04:06dad brought you some coffee
04:10dad i saw a crazy story online today what kind of story
04:17some guy kept a mistress behind his wife's back even had a secret kid the wife found out
04:22and completely destroyed his life chloe what is your point secrets don't stay buried forever
04:27right dad i locked eyes with him richard looked up at me i didn't back down
04:34these click eight brogs love making up this kind of garbage
04:38you're fresh out of college chloe stop reading that internet trash and focus on your career
04:43but his jaw tightened enough adults handle their own business you don't get a vote are we clear you
04:52don't get a vote are we clear crystal clear i stared at him i muttered
05:04saturday morning richard claimed he had to head to the office the second his car pulled out of the
05:08driveway i called an uber and headed straight to grand elysium resort
05:17hi i need some information about richard sterling's stay here last weekend i'm his
05:22daughter he thinks he may have left something behind in the room then can you at least tell
05:26me who else was registered to the room i'm sorry miss that would violate guest privacy policy
05:34can you at least tell me what the woman with him looked like can you at least tell me what
05:40the
05:40woman with him looked like she was young late 20s maybe dressed very bogo chic like an artist type
05:53i walked out through the revolving doors and pulled out my phone pulling up the address for the
05:58lunaco boutique i'd found last night i took a cab straight there and flagged down an older sale
06:04associate hi was there a necklace purchase under richard sterling on the 14th of last month
06:10yes of course mr sterling is one of our vip clients he came in that day with a very charming
06:16young woman and purchased our limited edition diamond necklace do you happen to know the woman's name
06:22do you happen to know the woman's name serena i believe he kept calling her his sweet serena they
06:29were very affectionate she kept insisting the necklace was too expensive but he absolutely refused to take no
06:34for an answer when i got home eleanor was out on the balcony watering her potted hydrangeas
06:43hey chloe what do you want for lunch i can whip something up her hair was tied back in a
06:49loose bone
06:58mom what's this you're a grown woman and you're still acting like a little kid
07:05mom have you ever thought of getting back out there getting a job a job i'm in my 50s honey
07:11besides richard won't hear of it he says he makes enough to take care of us and i should just
07:16relax
07:16at home i stared at the green leaves on the balcony my chest felt like someone was sitting on it
07:21i
07:21couldn't just drop the bomb on her she had high blood pressure a shock like this could put her in
07:25the hospital i needed hard proof i needed to find this serena i needed hard proof i needed to find
07:32this
07:32serena i searched through hashtag after hashtag on pictogram finally i found an account called serena
07:39slash soul art her grid was a curated gallery of over filtered aesthetic lifestyle shots i started
07:45scrolling a post from the 14th of last month the photo was a tight shot of the lumina necklace against
07:50a woman's colobine the caption read he says traditional marriage's cage built for the world and i am the only
07:55safe harbor his soul has ever know i let out a harsh bark of a laugh sanctuary for his soul
08:00swiping my
08:01family's credit card for a 23 000 piece of jewelry and you're talking about a soul further down a post
08:08from last weekend location tag the grand elysian resort the photo showed a small hand resting on
08:16a larger man's hand the caption a weekend escape from the city with my little guy forever grateful
08:23to the man behind the scenes who takes care of everything for us i stared at the phone screen
08:28the carpet pattern in the background was a perfect match for the family suite on the grand elysian's
08:32website and in the corner of the frame strapped to the man's wrist was a chronos watch it was the
08:36same
08:37watch i bought richard for his birthday last year with my first internship paycheck i screenshot
08:41everything and dumped it into an encrypted folder most of her location tags hovered around oak roll
08:46estates houses there started at 10 million dollars richard was just a partner at a real estate firm
08:55where was he getting that kind of cash how's the job hunt going chloe if nothing's biting i can set
09:01you up with a junior analyst position at the firm that night richard came home and immediately
09:06slipped back into his good husband good father routine no thanks dad i want to figure it out on my
09:14own
09:15stubborn just like your mother looking at him my stomach turned
09:22hey dad i drove past oak book states today those mansions look incredible
09:29what were you doing over there
09:34just driving through heard a lot of indie artists live there must be nice richard slammed his fork down
09:41the metal scraped against the ceramic with a harsh grading sound chloe why are you so fixated on this
09:48shallow crap all of a sudden always obsessing about how much money other people have what about your own
09:53life i just made a comment why are you snapping at me
10:01i'm trying to teach you some values keep your feet on the ground
10:06and don't start acting like some money hungry gold digger
10:13all right all right richard she just made an observation why are you getting so worked up drink
10:19this cool off eleanor quickly stepped in richard picked up the glass his hand was shaking slightly
10:25the next day the next day i blew off my afternoon plans and drove straight to oak rook estates
10:31security was posted at the front gate and there was no way i was getting past it so i parked
10:35outside
10:35a coffee shop across the street grabbed a seat by the window and watched for three straight hours
10:41a white stallion v8 suv pulled out of the gates and parked next to a florist on the corner the
10:46door
10:46opened a woman stepped out wearing a linen maxi dress she was very thin with long hair down to her
10:51waist she definitely had that airy artistic vibe it was serena no question she went into the shop and
10:57came out holding a massive bouquet of white roses i tossed some cash onto the table walked out of the
11:01coffee shop and followed her from half a block behind she didn't go back to the suv instead she carried
11:07the flowers half a block further and walked into elite montessori academy ten minutes later ten minutes
11:12later she walked out holding the hand of a little blonde boy maybe three years old he was dressed in
11:18a tailored prep school uniform clutching a toy fire truck mommy is daddy coming to see me today
11:28daddy's busy making lots of money to buy leo more toys the boy asked looking up at her
11:35serena ruffled his blonde hair i stepped right into the middle of the sidewalk blocking her path
11:41serena stopped a slight frown forming
11:45excuse me can i help you you're serena right i'm richard sterling's daughter excuse me can i help you
11:52you're serena right i'm richard sterling's daughter i don't know any richard
11:58bullshit want me to post the receipts from the grand elysium all over pingram or the purchase receipt for
12:02lumina diamond necklace you're wearing around your neck right now what do you want a chat
12:14crack me down i'll play it straight your dad and i it's true love true love maxing out my family's
12:20credit cards and living in a multi-million dollar mansion that's your definition of love
12:23little girl what do you know about love to your mother richard is just a walking atm a tool but
12:28with
12:28me he actually feels alive i'm his soul mate the only one who truly gets it you're disgusting
12:33fucking pathetic disgusting richard buys me houses he buys me cars he begs to spend his money on me
12:40you know why because i make him feel like a king while your mother she's just a desperate housewife
12:45smelling of cheap vanilla extract and cleaner her words twisted her life to build this family and this
12:53homewrecker had the nerve to reduce her to a punchline the oakmore house richard bought it the oakmore
12:58house richard bought it yep my name is on the deed paid in full cash i stood frozen every muscle
13:06in my
13:06body shook that evening richard walked through the front door right at 7 00 pm a rarity you went to
13:16see
13:16serena today yes richard are you insane ask her what she did showing up at an elite private school
13:27to cause a scene like some street trash you completely humiliated me caused a scene caused a scene i just
13:34wanted to see what kind of soul mate you stash in a 20 million dollar cash house chloe what are
13:39you
13:40talking about shut the hell up chloe one more word out of your mouth and you can pack your bags
13:43and get
13:44the fuck out of my house i'm not the one who should get out you are you're the one keeping
13:48a mistress
13:48behind our backs you even have a fucking three-year-old bastard child fine since it's out in the open
13:55i
13:55won't bother hiding it yes leo is my son serena is my woman eleanor i plan to handle this after
14:04chloe got
14:05married and moved out since she blew the lid off let's set the rules i'm not filing for divorce
14:10and you'll still be misdistorted status quo remains i'll keep paying your credit card
14:15limits and household expenses but moving forward i'll be spending three nights a week at hope pro
14:19don't interfere don't cause a scene let's handle this like adults and if i refuse
14:26refuse then go get a lawyer and file for divorce but i promise you you won't get a dime you'll
14:31walk away
14:32with absolutely nothing you're in your 50s with health issues without me how exactly are you going
14:37to survive you sick fuck you sick fuck why were you off the knife mom he doesn't get to treat
14:46us like
14:47this are you done with the hysterics i'm sleeping at oakwood tonight call me when you're ready to be
14:52reasonable mom i'm sorry i'm useless i don't know how to help you silly girl why are you crying
15:07mom why do you have did you think that follow-up call from the concierge was actually random
15:13i paid the concierge to make that call it was time you saw exactly what kind of piece of
15:18you've been calling dad chloe richard really thought i spent the last 30 years as some brainless
15:23housewife who only knows how to bake cookies he forgot one detail 30 years ago i was the youngest
15:29senior cpa in the state did you really think his shell companies and offshore trusts could slip past me
15:35mom you've known this whole time six months before you did i knew the exact day he made his first
15:40attempt to wire funds to a cayman islands account why didn't you just confront him because that wasn't
15:46enough why didn't you just confront him because that wasn't enough to nail him to the wall i was
15:51waiting waiting for him to cash out the largest smump and put the asset directly in that woman's name
15:56eleanor walked straight to the bookshelf she smoothly pulled out a heavy copy of principles of corporate
16:01vance tucked away in the back of the third row the center of the book was hollowed out inside lay
16:07a black
16:08encrypted flash drive she plugged the drive into a usb port the screen lit up and her fingers flew over
16:14the keyboard as she entered a long complex passcode a hidden encrypted directory popped up a hidden
16:20encrypted directory popped up it was packed with excel strep sheets bank statements and scanned pdfs
16:26of signed documents he's a control freak who trusts no one every illegal wire transfer he made he kept
16:32the master ledger himself mom with this we can absolutely destroy him in divorce court right not
16:37enough that's not what i want then what do you want i want him in a jumpsuit rotting in a
16:43cell
16:45half the money he wired to those offshore accounts was company funds he used serena's gallery as a
16:51front fake invorses cooked books and nearly 18 million dollars laundered out of the company
16:55that's corporate embezzlement and wire fraud clear-cut federal felonies
17:01there are two other senior partners at his firm those two old men barely check the ledgers they just
17:06collect their dividend checks at the end of the year but if they find out richard hollowed out their
17:11retirement funds to act as a sugar dad to his mistress what do you think they'll do
17:17the next day eleanor acted like nothing had happened she went to the butcher for steaks as usual
17:22and smiled at the neighbors across the street richard didn't set foot in the house for three straight
17:29days on the afternoon of the fourth day eleanor suddenly called me chloe elanor suddenly called me
17:35chloe drop what you're doing get to memorial downtown hospital right now
17:40i found her in the crowded hallway outside the er she stood like a statue her eyes locked on the
17:45billing counter down the hall richard was standing in line anxiously checking his watch over and over
17:50serena was clutching her stomach her face as white as a bed sheet the little boy leo was yanking on
17:56her
17:56dress and wailing loudly what happened serena's showing signs of a miscarriage richard bailed on a major
18:02board meeting and sped here to get her to the er she's pregnant again she's pregnant again yep what
18:09do you think richard's most desperate for right now he's out of cash flow he drained all the liquid
18:15assets and dumped them into the oakmore house and her gallery the firm's accounts are empty he doesn't
18:20plug the hole by next week he can't even make payroll so how is he going to cover it he
18:26wants to
18:26take out a second mortgage on our house he texted me yesterday telling me to get the original deed ready
18:31said the firm had a minor cash flow hiccup and needed my signature you didn't sign it did you
18:38you didn't sign it did you of course not not only will i not give him the deed i'm going
18:43to hand him
18:44a generous gift arthur it's eleanor is richard at the office i can't reach him anywhere no eleanor richard
18:51said he had to meet a key developer he won't be back in the office this afternoon a developer that's
18:56strange i just bumped into him in maternity world at memorial downtown he was holding up a pregnant
19:01young woman i assumed it was one of the firm's employees having an emergency eleanor are you
19:06absolutely sure he was in the maternity yes i even snapped a quick photo to ask him about it later
19:10oh
19:11well maybe my eyes are tricks on me arthur please don't mention i called you know how much he hates
19:16me
19:16prying into his business richard is our baby gonna be okay don't worry sweetheart the doctor said it's
19:27just minor cramping a few days of bed rest and you'll be fine i watched them walk toward the elevators
19:32wrapped in each other's arms and my stomach heaved for the next few days the house was quiet as a
19:38tem
19:38richard bombarded eleanor with texts every day demanding she get the deed ready eleanor brushed
19:43him off with vague excuses every time finally richard snapped friday night he stormed through
19:49the front door eleanor what the is taking you so long eleanor what the is taking you so long the
19:56firm is bleeding out and you can't even produce one damn piece of paper what's the rush the house is
20:01in both our names a second mortgage requires my signature in person with a notary my blood
20:06pressure has been spiking i'm not going anywhere eleanor i know you're still throwing a tantrum over
20:10serena but business is business the firm goes under we'll all end up on the street richard
20:16doesn't the firm have over 10 million in cash sitting in the operating account how could you
20:19possibly not make next week's payroll how do you know that that money's been tied up in a new
20:23development project for months i can't just pull it out oh is that so i thought you pulled that cash
20:28out to buy that mansion in oakwood you've been investigating me you've been investigating me you
20:32left a trail a mile wide don't push your luck eleanor you won't sign let the firm burn to the
20:37ground we'll all go down together those debts are in your name they have nothing to do with my mom
20:42nothing to do with her go look up marital debt chloe you think you're so smart the two of you
20:47combined couldn't outplay me if you tried mom is he telling the truth calm down chloe i don't start a
20:52war unless i know i've already won saturday morning eleanor drove us out to oak book estates we didn't
20:58try to get past the gates she parked across the street in the lot of an exclusive private golf club
21:02mom what are we doing here we're waiting for someone a few minutes later a black mercedes s-class
21:07pulled into the lot and parked next to us eleanor you said on the phone yesterday you have hard
21:12proof that richard has been sifling corporate assets arthur let's talk in the car it's all in
21:17there every wire transfer and forged invoice richard routed through serena's gallery over the last six
21:21months it totals 18 million dollars that son of a bitch i treated him like a partner for years and
21:26he treated me like his fucking atm no wonder he swore up and down the accounts were dry when the
21:29contractors demanded payment last month arthur he's currently trying to take out a second
21:33mortgage on my house to plug this exact hole if he gets that mortgage the books will balance
21:37come the year-end audit you won't find a single trace of this over my dead body eleanor what's
21:42your play over my dead body eleanor what's your play i want him ruined i want him to spit out
21:47every
21:47cent he swallowed with interest but i need your board authority to launch an internal audit and call the
21:52feds consider it done eleanor there is nothing i despise more than a fool who burns down a company for
21:57a
21:58mistress monday morning at 9 00 a.m right after richard luck two black suvs holding to our driveway
22:09mrs eleanor stirring we're court officers acting on behalf of the state supreme court
22:12this is an asset freezing order we need your signature
22:17arthur moved faster than i anticipated mrs sterling we now need to confiscate all deeds and title documents
22:23related to this property please cooperate
22:30mom didn't you say we were gonna wait how is this happening so fast
22:37if i waited any longer this mortgage this house to cover the hole he created my legal team secured an
22:43emergency asset freezing order right now every bank account trust fund and property in his name
22:49including that house in oak rook is frozen
22:57just how massive was the net my mother had woven over the last six months
23:07chloe has your mother lost her fucking mind she had the court freeze my corporate accounts where is
23:14she put her on the phone eleanor what the are you doing do you realize the firm's entire operating
23:20capital is frozen every project has ground to a halt if the developers sue me for breach of contract
23:26i'll be ruined that's the point richard i filed against you for infidelity marital dissipation of
23:33assets corporate embezzlement and wire fraud the court has officially accepted the filings
23:40what did you say i said i want a divorce but not your let's handle this like adults version
23:48you are going to walk away with zero you're crazy on what grounds do you think you can take everything
23:55on the grounds that you illegally transferred 23 million dollars in marital assets
24:00on the grounds that you embezzled 18 million dollars from the company
24:07and on the strength of every piece of evidence in my possession
24:10eleanor you think you can beat me let me tell you
24:15chloe listen to me from this second forward do not believe a single word out of richard's mouth
24:24the day after the assets were frozen serena showed up at our house
24:30chloe tell your mother to drop the lawsuit why the hell should i if richard goes to federal prison
24:34what good does that do you two he is your flesh and blood are you just gonna stand by and
24:38watch his
24:39life get destroyed my dad he's a serial liar not my father don't you understand the baby inside me
24:46can't grow up without a father please just beg your mother to drop it serena let me ask you a
24:53question
24:54is leo actually richard's biological son of course he is what kind of are you talking about oh really
25:00then let's just wait for the really then let's just wait for the court order dna paternity test
25:05it'll all be there in black and white serena looked like she had seen a ghost she spun around
25:10and practically stumbled away arthur went to the authorities the district attorney and the fbi have
25:15officially opened a case grand corporate emezzlement by tomorrow richard will be in handcuffs sitting in
25:21the county jail mom just how many more cards are you hiding up your sleeve chloe the biggest regret
25:28of my life was letting my cpa license expire to take care of this family i don't regret marrying richard
25:35but i do regret trapping myself in the shell of a housewife whose only value was tied to the kitchen
25:40mom you are the most badass ruthless woman i have ever known
25:47silly girl i'm not a badass i just couldn't let you grow up thinking that when a woman gets betrayed
25:53her only option is to suffer in silence word spread fast arthur called eleanor within the hour
26:00eleanor they got him he broke down in the interrogation room confessed to everything bogging like a baby
26:04the oakmiot house is in serena's name but the down payment and the mortgage were paid using
26:08corporate funds arthur i've already compiled the paper trap don't worry eleanor serena isn't getting
26:13away either the da is nailing her as an accomplice for money laundering and receiving stolen property
26:21grab your coat chloe you're taking the drive grab your coat chloe you're taking the drive
26:26to oprah to see serena no to county jail i'm handing your father the divorce settlement myself
26:38eleanor i messed up please drop the charges i can't do prison time richard the property settlement
26:43is finalized you sign and you walk away with nothing the house the bank accounts the cars they
26:48all go to me you don't have to sign 18 million in wire ford will get you at least 10
26:54years in federal
26:55lockup i can just finalize the divorce while you're rotting yourself eleanor you can't be this cold
27:0230 years of marriage cold when you were screwing another woman in the family suite at the grand
27:09and dropping 23 grand on her diamond necklace did you think about our 30 years then
27:40the police raided serena's place they confesseded her phone it had all your texts and bank transfers
27:53but they also found some records you didn't know about what records while she was playing house
27:59with you serena was sleeping with three other men two of them she's known since before she even met you
28:07what the are you talking about
28:11the dna test on leo came back yesterday the dna test on leo came back yesterday
28:18he is not your son
28:25this is the official lab report want to read it she swore she swore leo was mine
28:32she also swore you were the sanctuary for her soul you got played richard from day one you were nothing
28:39but a walking atm
28:45three now
28:48enjoy yourself richard 30 years of marriage and this is the absolute last thing i will ever do for you
29:00three months later the court handed down the verdict richard was convicted of corporate embezzlement and
29:06wire fraud the judge handed him 15 years in federal prison but that wasn't all he caught an additional
29:14charge for aggravated assault after the dna results came back he had his lawyer arrange a face-to-face
29:19visit with serena at the jail the two of them got into a vicious argument richard snapped launched
29:25across the table and wrapped his hands around her throat she suffered severe trauma and lost
29:30the baby she aggravated assault charge stuck the judge tacked it on bringing his total sentence to 50
29:36years serena was convicted of receiving stolen property and money laundering she got three years
29:43in prison suspended for four years of probation but her karma went way beyond that she lost the baby
29:49she lost the oak brook mansion she lost every single dime richard spent on her as for leo's real father
29:56she couldn't even name the guy herself the three-year-old ended up in the foster care system
30:05mom what's gonna happen to mom what's gonna happen to leo he's serena's problem not ours eleanor eventually
30:11opened her own boutique cpa firm the client list was small strictly word of mouth she swore she would
30:16never kill her career for anyone ever again i quit my corporate job and passed the cpa exam now i'm
30:23working as her junior partner the two of us are living better than we ever did before
30:29as for richard a 50-year sentence means he's going to die in a cage sometimes i wonder if the
30:36regrets
30:36keep him awake at night but mostly i just don't think about him at all he isn't my father anymore
30:43eleanor was right the one thing a woman can never afford to give up on is herself lesson learned i
30:50will
30:50never forget it
30:51you
Comments