What I had instead was the beginning of an orderly process.

It was less dramatic and far more useful.

PART 10

Brenda watched the corporate attorney leave the room in a daze, her manicured fingers trembling violently as she turned toward her younger son.

“Tell me this is not true, Brandon,” Brenda pleaded desperately, her voice cracking beneath the heavy silence of the boardroom.

“Tell me you did not gamble away your father’s business and drag our family name into a criminal investigation.”

“I was trying to keep our commercial projects afloat after the supply chain costs doubled, Mom,” Brandon yelled back defensively, his arrogance finally shattering into pure terror.