Chapter 4 - The Price of Pretending
Dominic’s arrest was only the beginning.
For three weeks, newspapers printed photographs of him leaving courtrooms and entering legal offices. He claimed he had been targeted by a vindictive former wife.
The evidence told a different story.
Investigators discovered that Vance-connected vendors had overcharged Crestwood by more than twenty-six million dollars. Some companies had no employees. Others existed only as rented mailboxes.
Victoria had used corporate funds to renovate two homes.
Dominic had approved payments to Natalie totaling nearly six hundred thousand dollars.
His relatives began turning on one another almost immediately.
Caleb Vance, the former head of procurement, agreed to cooperate in exchange for reduced charges. A family friend provided copies of secret financial records. Natalie hired her own attorney and claimed Dominic had misled her.
Dominic called me from a number I did not recognize.
I answered once.
“Audrey,” he said, “we need to talk.”
“We’re talking.”
“Not like this.”
His voice lacked the smooth confidence I remembered.
“My attorneys believe we can resolve some of these issues without a public trial.”
“Then your attorneys should speak to the prosecutors.”
“You know what the press is doing to my family.”
“The press is reporting court documents.”
“My mother can’t leave her house.”
“She should have considered that before stealing from employees.”
He breathed heavily.
“I loved you.”
“No. You loved access.”
“That isn’t fair.”
“Fair was giving you a position you had not earned. Fair was defending you when experienced executives warned me. Fair was believing every excuse you offered.”
“Audrey, please.”
It was the first time I had ever heard him use that word sincerely.
For one dangerous second, I remembered the man from our early marriage. The man who brought coffee to my mother’s grave. The man who danced with me in the kitchen.
Then I remembered the insurance document.
“What did you expect to happen to my father?” I asked.
Silence.
“What?”
“The insurance policy.”
His breathing stopped.
“You misunderstood that.”
“No. I finally understood everything.”
I ended the call.
Dominic never reached me again.
While the criminal case moved forward, I worked inside Crestwood every day.
We reinstated three employees who had been forced out. Ethan Cole received a promotion and became part of a new internal ethics team. Anonymous reporting protections were strengthened.
The company also reviewed every employee hired during Dominic’s leadership.
Not all of them were guilty.
Some were qualified people who had simply accepted jobs.
Those employees remained.
Justice, my father reminded me, was not the same as revenge.
Three months after the divorce, Dominic pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, and corporate theft. He received a prison sentence and was ordered to repay millions.
Victoria avoided prison because of her cooperation and age, but she lost both homes purchased with stolen funds. She was ordered to perform community service and pay restitution.
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Natalie returned the handbag, the jewelry, and several other items purchased through fraudulent accounts. Her professional licenses were investigated, and her consulting company was dissolved.
None of them walked away with the empire they thought they had built.
