Morning after the conservatory felt like the eye of a storm that hadn’t yet decided how violent it wanted to be.
Phones exploded before the coffee could cool. A dozen texts, three missed calls from Dad, two from Marisol asking for comment, one from Gage that read simply: We have a bad node. The live headline—Alleged Documents Link Dominic Shaw to Misappropriation of Carter Funds—had done its elegant work. It had placed Dominic inside a frame that looked like old greed newly dressed.
Reporters circled the Carter driveway by noon. A local pundit called the gala footage a “smoking gun.” Donors who’d once smiled at James’ charity now whispered about exposure and walked away with small, apology-polished statements. James was livid and hollow; he moved through the house like a man trying to ca
