CHAPTER 8
I walked over to my desk and sat down in my high-backed chair, opening the file to inspect the official court decrees from the Northern District of Illinois.
Every dollar stolen through Vanessa's network of shell companies had been completely recovered and restored to Merrick Global's operational treasury.
Wall Street had responded to our corporate restructuring with unprecedented enthusiasm, driving our stock value to an all-time high of six billion dollars.
"And Vanessa?" I asked quietly, looking up at Eleanor with a calm, measured gaze.
"The judge rejected her plea bargain yesterday afternoon," Eleanor reported softly. "She was sentenced to thirty years at the Federal Correctional Institution in Hazelton, without the possibility of early parole."
I absorbed the news in quiet silence, feeling a heavy wave of sadness for the child she could have been, mixed with profound relief that justice had been fully served.
She had been offered every advantage, every privilege, and every opportunity to lead with honor, yet she had chosen the path of ruin.
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"There is one more thing," Eleanor added, pulling a small sealed envelope from her jacket pocket. "She sent this from the detention center last night."
I looked down at the envelope, recognizing the elegant, sharp handwriting on the front, before slowly sliding it into my desk drawer without opening it.
