THEY CALLED ME “DRAMATIC” FOR EXPECTING THEM TO MISS MY SISTER’S BIRTHDAY FOR A FUNERAL, SO I STOPPED EXPLAINING MYSELF—BUT WHEN MY NAME APPEARED IN THE HEADLINES SIX MONTHS LATER, MY FAMILY FINALLY DISCOVERED WHAT I HAD BEEN HIDING

Following the public unraveling at the St. Andrews Country Club, the media sharks of Chicago’s financial district caught the scent of blood.

Within forty-eight hours, headlines plastered across the business journals and local news networks screamed with sensationalized updates: “DEFENSE TITAN MERIDIAN AERONAUTICS CRUSHES VANGUARD INDUSTRIAL IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN,” and “MYSTERY HEIRESS CLAIRE VANCE REVEALED AS SOLE CHAIRWOMAN OF AEROSPACE EMPIRE.”

Reporters camped outside my suburban home, shouting questions through the iron gates, flashing cameras like lightning storms. But they couldn't touch me. Meridian’s private security detail maintained an impenetrable perimeter, and my legal team issued a blanket, ice-cold statement informing the press that Chairwoman Vance would not be granting interviews.

I sat in Daniel’s mahogany office once more, looking over the digital analytics reports.

Vanguard Industrial was in receivership. Federal prosecutors had formally indicted Richard on three counts of wire fraud, corporate forgery, and falsifying federal defense subcontracts. He was facing up to fifteen years in a federal penitentiary.

As for Vanessa, her social circle evaporated overnight. The wealthy friends who had toasted her with champagne on her birthday rooftop now crossed the street to avoid making eye contact with her. Without Richard’s embezzled funds, the country club memberships, luxury cars, and designer wardrobes were repossessed by the banks.

My phone buzzed constantly with blocked numbers, frantic voicemails from my mother sobbing hysterically, and desperate texts from my father begging for just five minutes of my time.