I left the hospital carrying my daughter’s ashes when my husband finally called from wherever he was with his mistress and coldly said, “The bill has been taken care of. Stop bothering me.” I didn’t argue with him. I didn’t allow him to hear my voice break.

Ximena’s criminal case continued to move forward, and the police investigation expanded into years of questionable transactions.

Fairchild Global also remained under intense financial scrutiny, while Brendan faced a board of directors increasingly unwilling to accept his explanation that he had simply trusted the wrong assistant.

Three months later, the company failed its second independent financial audit.

Then my cell phone rang.

Daniel was calling directly from the Vance Capital offices.

“The Fairchild board just officially removed Brendan as Chief Executive Officer,” Daniel reported.