Chapter 5
The next morning, the world exploded.
Headlines on every news channel.
VERIDIAN GLOBAL EXEC BUSTED FOR FRAUD.
DOUBLE LIFE EXPOSED: TWO WIVES, TWO KIDS, MILLIONS STOLEN.
STERLING FAMILY BREAKS SILENCE: "WE STAND WITH VIVIENNE."
Marcus had called in every favor he had.
The story was framed perfectly.
I was the wronged wife.
The devoted mother.
The woman who had walked away from her family's fortune to build a life with a man who had used her.
Lila was framed the same way.
Another victim.
Another mother fighting for her child.
Dominic was the villain.
The con man.
The greedy liar who had played everyone.
The court froze every asset he had ever touched.
The house I lived in—bought with Sterling money, so it stayed mine.
The condo Lila lived in—bought with stolen Veridian funds, so it was seized.
Julian set Lila and Ethan up in a nice apartment downtown.
New furniture.
New clothes.
A trust fund for Ethan, just like the one we had for Sophia.
"No strings attached," Julian told her.
"It's the least we can do. He used our money to hurt you, too. This is us making it right."
Lila cried when he told her.
That afternoon, Sophia and Ethan met properly.
We took them to the park.
At first, they were shy.
Then Ethan showed Sophia his dinosaur.
Sophia showed him the necklace she'd fixed with new glitter.
Ten minutes later, they were running around the playground like they'd known each other their whole lives.
Lila and I sat on a bench.
We watched them.
"He's going to ask for custody, isn't he?" Lila said.
"Dominic. When he gets out on bail. He'll say he's a good father. He'll try to take Ethan."
I nodded.
"He'll try with Sophia, too."
I took a breath.
"But he won't win. We have proof of everything. The fraud. The lies. The gambling. The other women. No judge in the country will give him unsupervised visitation, let alone custody. Not with all of this."
Victor walked over.
He held his phone.
"Bail hearing's tomorrow," he said.
"His lawyer's asking for five hundred thousand. Says he's not a flight risk."
I laughed.
A cold, sharp sound.
"He has a private passport under a fake name. We found it in his office safe last night. He was three days away from boarding a plane to Panama."
Victor smiled.
"Already sent that to the DA. Bail's going to be denied. He stays in jail until trial."
Good.
The less I had to see him, the better.
That night, Marcus hosted a small dinner at the Sterling estate.
Just family.
Me, Sophia, my three brothers, Lila, Ethan.
My mom had flown in from California.
She held Sophia tight the second she walked in.
She kissed Ethan's forehead like he was her own grandson.
"Family is family," she said.
"No matter how it comes to you."
After dinner, the kids played in the game room.
The adults sat in the study.
Julian went over the financials.
"Veridian is done," he said.
"We're liquidating what's left. Most of the employees will get severance. The ones who didn't know what Dominic was doing will get letters of recommendation. The ones who did—Chloe, the CFO, the two VPs who helped him cook the books—they're all facing charges, too."
Marcus nodded.
"The Senate Ethics Committee is already looking into the government contracts he got. We're cooperating fully. It'll be a black mark on Veridian, but it won't touch the Sterling name. If anything, it'll help. We're the ones who took down a corrupt executive. We're the good guys here."
Victor leaned back in his chair.
"There's one more thing," he said.
He slid a thin manila folder across the table.
I opened it.
Inside was a life insurance policy.
Five million dollars.
On my life.
Taken out six months ago.
The beneficiary was Dominic Hale.
My hands went cold.
"He took out a hit on me?" I whispered.
"We don't have proof of that yet," Victor said.
"But we're looking. He owed four million to the casinos. Some of those guys are connected. It wouldn't be hard to make an 'accident' happen. Car crash. House fire. Something that looks random."
Marcus slammed his fist on the table.
"That son of a bitch—"
"Wait," Lila said.
She was pale.
She reached into her bag.
She pulled out her own phone.
She opened an email.
"Three months ago, Dominic made me take out a new life insurance policy on myself. Ten million. He said it was 'good business sense.' For Ethan, if something happened to me."
She showed us the email.
The beneficiary was Dominic Hale.
Oh my God.
He wasn't just going to leave us.
He was going to kill us.
Both of us.
Take the money.
Run.
And leave our kids orphans.
I felt sick.
I ran to the bathroom.
I threw up.
Marcus followed me.
He held my hair back.
"He's not going to touch you," he said.
"Or Lila. Or the kids. I promise you, Viv. As long as I'm breathing, he will never get within a hundred miles of any of you."
I wiped my mouth.
I looked in the mirror.
My eyes were red.
My face was pale.
But something had changed.
The last of the love I had felt for Dominic was gone.
Burned away.
All that was left was steel.
I turned to Marcus.
"Make sure he gets the maximum sentence," I said.
"Every charge. Every year. I don't want him breathing free air ever again."
May you like
Marcus nodded.
"Consider it done."
