The news broke before sunrise.
Brandon’s name glared across every digital screen, every news ticker, every phone in the city: “Disgraced Heir Turns Fraudster – Police Investigate Former Hughes Executive.”
By the time he reached for the remote, it was already too late. The headline was everywhere. The world had decided his guilt before the law ever could.
He hurled the remote across the room. It hit the peeling motel wallpaper with a dull thud and fell into silence. The TV flickered on, replaying footage of him escorted out of his office during the raid. His jaw clenched as he watched himself on screen—a villain edited for the public’s consumption.
“Public enemy number one,” he muttered, bitter laughter cracking through exhaustion. “Guess I made it back to the headlines.”
===
Across t
