Chapter 10 - Cracks in the Facade
By Thursday evening, the storm had hit the local media. Lauren Vance’s mugshot was featured on the evening news, beneath the headline: *Local Socialite Indicted in Multimillion-Dollar Investment Ponzi Scheme.*
The Vance family name, which Theresa had guarded with the ferocity of a dragon guarding stolen gold, was now a regional punchline.
I sat in my downtown apartment, drinking black tea while Paula reviewed the paperwork on her tablet. The city lights stretched out across the skyline, serene and indifferent to the chaos unfolding in the suburbs.
A knock sounded at my door. Not the frantic pounding of Theresa, but the slow, hesitant tap of a defeated man.
I opened the door. Julian stood in the corridor, carrying a single duffel bag. His suit was wrinkled, his hair unwashed. He looked like an apparition of the man I had married.
"She’s at the house alone," Julian said quietly, not stepping across the threshold until I nodded. He dropped the bag on the entryway floor. "The church members won't answer her calls. Two of her friends from the country club demanded refunds for charity tickets Lauren sold them that turned out to be fraudulent. She spent the entire day packing her clothes into cardboard boxes."
"And what about you?" I asked, leaning against the kitchen island.
"I resigned from Lauren’s LLC board today," Julian said, his voice shaking. "I spent four hours with the investigators, turning over every email, every receipt, every bank transfer she ever sent me. They told me I’m not a target of the criminal indictment because I was never a signer on the offshore accounts. But my reputation in corporate finance is incinerated. Everyone knows I was the CFO’s brother who didn't notice his own sister was stealing from retirees."
He looked at me, his eyes rimmed with red. "You knew all of this was coming, didn't you? That’s why you pulled your money out of our joint accounts three months ago."
"I work in forensic corporate accounting, Julian," I said gently. "Lauren’s numbers never made sense. When I tried to tell you last summer, you accused me of being unsupportive. You told me I didn't understand high-growth retail."
Julian dropped his head, tears finally spilling down his cheeks. "I was an idiot. A blind, cowardly idiot. I wanted my mother to love me the way she loved Lauren. I wanted her to be proud of us. And instead, I let her treat the best thing that ever happened to me like an intruder."
May you like
He took a step forward, falling to his knees on my hardwood floor, gripping my hands with desperate strength. "Don't throw her on the street, Mariana. Not for her sake—for mine. Let me bear the debt. Evict me, make me pay every cent of the ninety-five thousand dollars back to your company. Just... give her a chance to survive this. Please."
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