Chapter 6 - The Legal Reckoning
The aftermath of the gala was a nuclear explosion.
Within ten minutes of the video playing, three representatives from the board of directors of Anderson Tech walked up to Derek in the lobby of the Drake Hotel, stripped him of his executive title on the spot, and informed him that the company’s legal team was filing an immediate lawsuit for corporate fraud and brand destruction.
Reporters from the Chicago Tribune and local news stations, who had been invited to cover Howard’s award, flooded the lobby with cameras and microphones. By midnight, the video of Derek slapping Lily—along with Howard’s callous reaction—was trending number one nationwide on social media.
The headline ran across national news outlets: "Corporate Titan’s Family Legacy Unmasked: Executive Arrested After Gala Video Exposes Child Abuse."
By Monday morning, Howard Thompson’s empire was crumbling like a house of cards in a hurricane.
The board of his primary holding firm held an emergency meeting and voted unanimously to remove Howard as Chairman. Sponsors pulled millions in funding. The family’s charitable foundation was disbanded as donors demanded their money back.
And then came the courtroom.
Two weeks later, the preliminary hearing for State of Michigan v. Derek Thompson took place at the county courthouse.
The courtroom was packed to capacity. Journalists, former business associates, and curious onlookers filled the benches.
Howard and my mother sat behind the defense table in tailored black suits, looking haggard and exhausted, their eyes surrounded by deep dark circles. Derek sat beside his lead defense attorney, a famous high-priced lawyer named Richard Vance, who looked thoroughly miserable to be representing them.
I sat on the prosecution side, wearing a simple navy dress, holding hands with Natalie and Uncle Paul.
Vance stood up, trying to play his last desperate card. "Your Honor, we move to dismiss all charges based on illegal wiretapping. The video and audio footage recorded at the lakehouse was obtained without my client's explicit consent and constitutes a violation of privacy!"
The judge, a formidable woman with piercing grey eyes, looked down over her glasses. "Mr. Vance, the footage was recorded by an independent contractor hired by your client's father to record common areas of the home. Furthermore, under state law, video evidence documenting an active felony assault against a minor is fully admissible. Motion denied."
Vance winced. He turned to Derek and whispered harshly, "We need to take a plea deal now. If this goes to a jury, you are going to prison for three years minimum."
Derek’s arrogance had completely evaporated. He looked at me across the aisle, his eyes filled with a pathetic, desperate plea for mercy.
"Audrey," Derek called out softly, his voice trembling as his lawyer pulled him toward the side conference room. "Audrey, please... talk to the prosecutor. We're family! You’re going to ruin my life!"
I stood up, walked over to the wooden partition separating us, and looked my brother dead in the eye.
"You ruined your own life, Derek," I said, my voice steady and cold as steel. "You thought power gave you the right to hurt people who couldn't fight back. You thought I was weak. But you forgot one thing."
"What?" Derek whimpered.
"A mother will burn down the world to protect her child," I replied. "And I'm just getting started."
An hour later, Derek signed a formal guilty plea to felony child abuse and corporate financial fraud.
The sentence was handed down immediately: eighteen months in state prison, three years of mandatory probation, anger management rehabilitation, and a permanent, legally binding ten-year restraining order keeping him away from Lily and me.
As the bailiffs stepped forward and handcuffed Derek, pulling him toward the side door that led to the county jail, my mother let out a loud, weeping sob, collapsing into Howard’s arms.
Howard looked at me, his eyes hollow, his grand legacy reduced to a disgraced son in a orange jumpsuit and a ruined reputation.
"Audrey..." Howard rasped, his voice sounding old and frail for the first time in his life. "What do you want from us?"
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"I don't want anything from you, Howard," I said, using his first name for the very first time. "You gave me everything I needed the moment you showed the world who you truly were."
I turned my back on them and walked out of the courtroom into the bright afternoon sun.
