The fallout was instant and total.

The board suspended Spencer from all duties, froze the internal transfers, ordered emergency forensic audits, and announced to the world that the activity under investigation had been carried out with no knowledge or authorization from the executive board.

The wedding was called off overnight.

Bianca, who had gone to sleep believing she was about to marry one of New York’s brightest young executives, woke to find herself packing a suitcase and vacating a luxury apartment whose lease, it turned out, was held by a company subsidiary.

Her sponsorships evaporated inside forty-eight hours.