I was informed at 6:40 the next morning that it was live, and by eight it had four hundred thousand plays, and by nine I had stopped being able to think about anything except what was happening to Vaughn Enterprises.

The business world woke to a scandal.

There was no clear video, only a shot of the basement door at the estate, but the audio was crystalline — Russell saying the matter would be settled in private, Phoebe’s terrified cries, Gwendolyn’s honeyed pleas, and my silence.

By mid-morning the Vaughn name was trending across the country. The company’s PR team tried to bury it, but Arthur killed every paid statement before it reached the press.

News crews massed outside headquarters.

At nine-thirty, the exchange suspended trading of Vaughn Enterprises after its share price crashed. At ten, three major banks froze their commercial credit lines.