"He smashed his newborn daughter's crib and threw his wife out. Then the billionaire chairman stepped out of the car."

It wasn't an invitation to a meeting; it was a mandatory appearance before the corporate ethics and governance committee, accompanied by federal investigators.

I didn't attend the initial deposition—I stayed home in the sunlit solarium with Maya, enjoying the quiet peace of my restored life. But Arthur kept me updated via live encrypted video feeds streamed directly to my tablet.

On the screen, the forty-fifth-floor executive boardroom looked pristine and imposing.

Julian sat at the center of the massive mahogany conference table, flanked by a bewildered, low-tier public defender who looked entirely out of his depth. Standing around the perimeter of the room were three federal agents from the financial crimes division and four members of Vance Global’s executive board.

Julian’s face was ashen, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

“Mr. Cole,” Chairman Alexander Vance began, his voice echoing authoritatively off the glass walls. “You have been summoned here today to review the findings of our internal and external forensic audits regarding the financial discrepancies in your regional division.”

“Sir... Mr. Vance, please,” Julian babbled, his hands trembling as he gripped the edge of the table. “There’s been a misunderstanding. Some of these accounting entries were clerical errors made by my administrative staff—!”

“Clerical errors totaling 1.4 million dollars funneled into Apex Holdings LLC?” Arthur Vance interrupted smoothly, sliding a certified document across the table. “Odd place for a clerical error, Julian, considering you are listed as the secondary signatory on the corporate banking resolution for that exact shell company.”

Julian froze. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. The public defender hastily grabbed the document, scanned it, and slowly lowered his head, realizing his client had lied to him.

“Furthermore,” Arthur continued, “we have recovered deleted email correspondence between you and Ms. Lane discussing how to manipulate quarterly earnings reports to conceal the missing capital from our independent shareholders.”

“You’re finished, Cole,” one of the independent board directors said coldly. “The board has voted unanimously to terminate your employment with cause, strip you of all unvested stock options, and pursue maximum financial restitution under federal racketeering laws.”

“No... no, you can’t do that!” Julian shouted, slamming his hands onto the table and standing up so fast his chair tipped over backward with a sharp crash. “I gave the best years of my life to this corporation! I brought in millions in revenue! You’re destroying me over a—over a bitter divorce dispute!”

“This isn't a divorce dispute, Mr. Cole,” the lead federal agent stepped forward, pulling a pair of cold steel handcuffs from his belt. “This is a criminal arrest.”

Before Julian could bolt toward the double doors, the agents moved in. Strong hands grabbed his shoulders, forcing his arms behind his back as the metallic click of the handcuffs echoed through the silent boardroom.

Julian thrashed weakly, his eyes wide with blind terror, staring directly into the live security camera lens that fed the video stream to my tablet.

“Elena!” he screamed hysterically as they dragged him toward the exit. “Elena, help me! Please! Tell them to stop! I’m your husband!”

I calmly reached out my finger, tapped the screen of my tablet, and closed the video stream.