Chapter 5 - The Public Reckoning
Two weeks later, the story broke across every major financial news network in North America.
AETHELARD GLOBAL CHAIRMAN CASSIDY VANCE EXPOSES MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR EXECUTIVE FRAUD. MORRISON FAMILY EMPIRE COLLAPSES AMID EMBEZZLEMENT AND RACKETEERING CHARGES.
The media went wild. Photos of Brendan Morrison being led out of the federal courthouse in handcuffs were plastered across the front pages of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Diane Morrison was snapped by paparazzi sleeping in the backseat of a rented subcompact car outside a legal aid office, her designer clothes wrinkled, her famous pearl earrings gone—pawned to pay for her husband's bail consultant.
Jessica had vanished from the city overnight, her art gallery closed, her social media accounts deleted after corporate bailiffs seized her luxury apartment and all the jewelry Brendan had bought her with stolen money.
On a crisp, sunny afternoon in mid-October, I stood on the private terrace of my penthouse overlooking Central Park.
I was eight months pregnant now. My belly was round and heavy, but I felt stronger, lighter, and more peaceful than I had in years.
Arthur Pendelton walked out onto the terrace, holding two mugs of warm herbal tea. He handed one to me and leaned against the marble balustrade.
"Brendan signed the final plea agreement an hour ago, Ms. Vance," Arthur said softly. "He begins his sentence next month. His mother signed a formal waiver forfeiting any future claims against the Vance estate or your daughter's guardianship."
I took a slow sip of tea, watching the yellow and red leaves fall over the trees in the park below.
"Did she say anything?" I asked.
"Diane?" Arthur smiled faintly. "She asked if you would consider sending her an allowance. Five hundred dollars a month for groceries."
I let out a soft, genuine laugh—the first real laugh I had enjoyed in a very long time.
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"Tell her I’ll send her a bucket," I said quietly. "A nice metal one. She can use it to collect her tears."
Arthur chuckled, bowing his head. "Consider it done, Chairman."
