Chapter 5 - The Paper Empire Collapses-5
By five o'clock that afternoon, the news of the Sterling family arrests exploded across global financial networks.
“STERLING FINANCIAL EMPIRE CRUMBLES: BOARD MEMBERS ARRESTED IN ORLANDO ON FEDERAL FRAUD AND EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGES.”
Television cameras broadcast live footage from Orlando International Airport showing Richard, Elaine, Vanessa, and Caleb being led away in handcuffs, dressed in their wrinkled resort wear, their faces hidden from the flashing cameras as federal agents loaded them into black vans.
Inside my estate in Chicago, the atmosphere was serene.
Lily was sitting at the kitchen island, happily eating a bowl of strawberry ice cream while drawing a picture of a sea turtle. She looked up at me as I walked into the kitchen, her big hazel eyes—the exact same eyes my biological mother Eleanor had possessed—shining with peace and contentment.
“Mom?” Lily asked, setting her crayon down.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Are Grandma and Grandpa ever coming back?”
I walked over, kneeling beside her chair, and gently brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead. “No, Lily. They are going to be away for a very long time.”
“Are you sad?” she asked softly.
I looked into her innocent, trusting eyes. For thirty years, I had believed that family was something you had to endure, something you had to buy, something you had to protect even when it was destroying you. I had let monsters live in my house because I was terrified of being alone.
“I’m not sad at all, Lily,” I smiled warmly, kissing her cheek. “I’m free.”
My attorney, Arthur Pendelton, stepped into the kitchen, holding a fresh set of legal documents stamped with the official seal of the United States District Court.
“Sarah,” Arthur said softly, bowing his head slightly. “The emergency board meeting of Sterling Financial just concluded. The board of directors has unanimously voted to remove Richard and Elaine from all executive positions. You have been officially appointed as the sole Chief Executive Officer and Chairwoman of the Board.”
“And the assets?” I asked.
“Every single property deed—including Vanessa’s suburban estate, Richard’s lake house, and their portfolio of commercial real estate—has been placed into an emergency court receivership,” Arthur reported. “Because those properties were purchased using funds stolen from your biological mother Eleanor’s Swiss trust, the federal judge has ordered an immediate restitution transfer directly to you and Lily.”
I nodded slowly, taking a deep breath of the cool, clean air filling my home.
“Sell them,” I said quietly.
Arthur raised an eyebrow. “All of them?”
May you like
“Every single one,” I replied, my voice steady and unyielding. “Liquidate every house, every car, every piece of art, and every share of stock attached to their names. Place one hundred percent of the proceeds into a public charitable foundation dedicated to protecting abandoned and vulnerable children.”
Arthur smiled, his eyes crinkling with deep respect. “It will be done, Sarah.”
