Chapter 6 - The Bloodbath of Retribution
The weeks following the arrests were a blur of media frenzy and courtroom drama.
The story hit the front pages of major news outlets: TECH CEO AND CELEBRITY PR AGENT ARRESTED FOR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FRAUD AGAINST INVESTMENT HEIRESS.
Because Nolan controlled the media narrative, every detail of Derek and Clara’s betrayal was laid bare for the world to see. Screenshots of their Cabo trip, receipts of stolen money, and security footage from Terminal 3 were leaked to the press.
Derek’s reputation was utterly annihilated. His former business partners publicly disowned him, his board sued him for breach of fiduciary duty, and his family was forced to sell their family home to pay for his legal defense fees.
Clara fared no better. Her high-society clients deserted her instantly. The women who once invited her to charity galas now publicly mocked her on social media. Her mother, disgraced and furious after discovering Clara had lied about her having cancer to garner sympathy, refused to speak to her.
In the legal depositions, the traitors destroyed each other.
Sitting across from them in the prosecutor's office, I watched through a one-way mirror as Derek’s lawyers threw Clara under the bus, claiming she was the mastermind who seduced him and stole the funds. In response, Clara’s legal team turned over years of Derek’s private text messages, revealing his systemic tax evasion and corporate bribery.
They tore each other apart like rabid dogs fighting over scraps.
"They're facing six years each in a state penitentiary," Victoria reported as she joined me in the viewing room. "No bail. No plea bargains. The prosecutor wants to make an example out of them."
I took a deep breath, feeling a profound sense of lightness wash over my chest. The heavy, crushing weight that had settled on my lungs at Terminal 3 was finally gone.
"How are you holding up, Emily?" Victoria asked softly.
"I thought I would feel sad," I admitted, looking at Derek through the glass. He looked broken, his hair messy, wearing an orange jumpsuit, weeping quietly as his lawyer argued with the prosecutor. "I thought I would miss the man I fell in love with."
"And do you?"
"No," I replied firmly. "Because that man never existed. He was just a mask worn by a thief."
Nolan walked into the room, wearing a tailored navy suit, looking commanding and majestic. He held out a smooth leather folder.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Your new life," Nolan smiled gently. "NexusTech has been liquidated and restructured under Vance Global Enterprises. I’ve appointed a new board, and I want you to take over as Chief Creative Officer."
I stared at him, stunned. "Nolan... I studied art and design. I don't know how to run a tech firm."
"You have brilliant vision, Emily," Nolan insisted. "You spent years giving your ideas to Derek so he could look like a genius. Now, you build your own empire. I’ll handle the finances; you handle the future."
May you like
I looked at the folder, then at my brother. He had saved me from a lifetime of misery, turned my tragic humiliation into absolute triumph, and now he was giving me the wings to fly.
"Okay," I smiled, a genuine, radiant smile touching my lips for the first time in weeks. "Let’s build an empire."
