The altered fire record and deleted recording followed Mia into court. She received fifteen years in federal prison for corporate fraud and conspiracy; her tears swayed no one.
Bankruptcy took Eleanor's villa, its furniture, and the last Vance family benefits. She moved into a cramped, rent-controlled apartment in Queens.
Julian never cashed the check. Reports placed him around the financial district carrying old Vance Group clippings, until the sightings stopped.
I never saw him again.
Months later, the last transfer of the Sterling family trust waited on my desk. The holdings already answered to me; the signatures made the ownership permanent.
The transfer covered my grandfather's trust and every holding added during the five years since my trial ended.
I signed each page and press
