Chapter 9 - The Morning AfterWe spent our wedding night not at a lavish resort, but in the penthouse of Sterling Tower, overlooking the glittering skyline of the city. For the first time in my life, I slept for eight full hours without waking up in a cold sweat about unverified spreadsheets or pending system crashes.
When I woke up, the morning light was streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Adrian was already awake, sitting in an armchair by the window, wearing a charcoal robe, reading a tablet.
On the glass coffee table lay a stack of morning newspapers. I didn't need to pick them up to read the bold, black headlines:
MERCER MANUFACTURING COLLAPSES AMID FEDERAL FRAUD CHARGES RECLUSIVE BILLIONAIRE ADRIAN STERLING EXPOSES CORPORATE FRAUD AT OWN WEDDING VICE PRESIDENT VANESSA MERCER ARRESTED FOR BANK FALSIFICATION
I walked over and sat on the arm of his chair. He immediately placed a hand on my waist, pulling me close.
“The bail hearing was set for nine AM,” Adrian said quietly. “Your father’s attorney requested a reduced bond based on his age and standing in the community.”
“And?” I asked.
“Denied,” Adrian replied. “The judge considered him a flight risk due to several undisclosed offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands—which, coincidentally, Vance’s team uncovered at midnight.”
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I let out a long breath. “And Vanessa?”
“Her attorney tried to argue she was merely an employee following orders. But the forensic logs showed she personally initiated seventy-three fraudulent transactions from her private terminal. Bond was set at five million dollars. Neither of them can post it; their personal accounts were frozen three hours ago.”
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