Chapter 6 - The Unraveling in PublicWithin forty-eight hours, the collapse of Ryan Vance was no longer a private family matter—it was front-page news across every financial blog and social media channel in the city.
The downfall started with a bombshell press release from Vance Capital. Arthur Vance didn't just fire Ryan; he publicly outed the entire embezzlement scheme, detailing how a senior executive had used corporate funds to finance a double life. Within hours, internet sleuths—urged on by Damian’s PR team—unearthed Ryan’s lavish lifestyle, his downtown mistress, and his attempts to frame his postpartum wife.
By Wednesday morning, #VanceScandal was trending number one on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
I sat in Damian’s sunlit kitchen, nursing Eli while scrolling through my phone. The comments under the news articles were a relentless torrent of rage directed at my ex-husband.
“What kind of monster cheats on his wife hours after she gives birth?” one viral Facebook post read, garnering over fifty thousand shares. “And then tries to pin embezzlement on her? Lock him up and throw away the key!”
Vanessa Vance had deleted all her social media accounts by Tuesday night, fleeing to her family’s estate in the Hamptons after her father stripped her of her corporate title and company shares.
As for Ryan, he had nowhere to run. The police had already frozen his remaining assets, and his fancy downtown penthouse was currently being seized by court-appointed receivers.
The doorbell chimed, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Damian walked into the kitchen from his home office, looking mildly amused. “Well, look who’s downstairs begging for an audience again. Only this time, he brought backup.”
“Who?” I asked.
“His mother, Eleanor.”
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I raised an eyebrow. Eleanor Vance had spent the entirety of our marriage treating me like an unpolished peasant who didn't deserve her precious son. She had mocked my clothes, criticized my career choices, and whispered passive-aggressive insults at every family dinner.
“Send her up,” I said quietly. “I want to see this.”
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