Chapter 4 - The AftermathBy midnight, the ballroom was entirely empty, save for the catering staff clearing away untouched plates of seared duck and champagne flutes.
I sat alone at the head table, the crystal chandeliers dimmed to a soft amber glow. My phone sat on the white tablecloth, vibrating continuously with missed calls, text messages from reporters, and urgent voicemails from Grant’s defense attorneys.
I didn't answer a single one.
The heavy doors creaked open, and Marcus Vance, our senior corporate counsel and my father’s former right-hand man, walked slowly toward me. He looked tired, his gray hair slightly disheveled, but there was a profound sense of relief in his eyes.
"The police have him booked at the county detention facility," Marcus said quietly, pulling out the chair beside me. "Bail was denied due to the flight risk posed by the international accounts we uncovered in the Cayman Islands."
"And Dana Cole?" I asked, looking down at my hands.
"Cooperating fully," Marcus replied with a grim smile. "She handed over her laptop password within ten minutes of the arrest. She realized Grant was planning to pin the entire embezzlement scheme on her if things went south."
"Classic Grant," I murmured, shaking my head. "He never took responsibility for anything in his life. He truly believed charm could talk its way out of a federal indictment."
Marcus reached out and patted my hand gently. "Your father would have been proud of you, Evelyn. We all would have been. You played a very long, very difficult game."
"I didn't want a game, Marcus," I said, turning to look at him. "I just wanted an honest partnership. But when someone hands you a knife and tells you they've been waiting ten years to use it, you learn how to build armor very quickly."
"What are your instructions for Monday morning?" Marcus asked, pulling out a leather-bound planner.
May you like
"First item on the agenda," I said, a faint smile touching my lips, "we audit every single project Grant touched. If a building has his name on it, we check the foundation twice. And second... we restore every penny he stole back into the affordable housing initiatives he tried to dismantle."
Marcus nodded approvingly. "Consider it done."
