Chapter 8 - The Downfall
The trial of the Rourke family became the scandal of the decade.
Because of the overwhelming forensic evidence provided by my father's system, the district attorney moved with terrifying speed. Caleb and Diane were indicted on multiple counts of grand larceny, bank fraud, money laundering, and corporate tax evasion.
In court, I sat on the witness stand, holding myself with calm, unshakeable dignity. When the prosecutor played the security footage from my baby shower—showing Caleb snatching the envelope and pushing me toward the swimming pool while fifty guests watched—the jury gasped.
Diane’s legal team tried to argue that it was a simple family misunderstanding. But the jury saw through the gilded facade.
When the verdicts were read, Caleb was sentenced to eight years in state prison. Diane Rourke, found guilty of masterminding the financial fraud, received twelve years. Rourke Manor was seized by federal marshals to pay back tens of millions in fraudulent loans and back taxes.
As Caleb was led away in handcuffs, his expensive suit replaced by prison orange, he looked back at me from the defense table.
"Clara! Please!" he sobbed, his voice cracking. "I lost everything! Save me!"
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I looked at him with neither anger nor hatred—only complete indifference.
"You didn't lose everything, Caleb," I said softly, as the guards ushered him through the iron doors. "You just got exactly what you earned."
