Dominic’s mother collapsed back into her chair, sobbing hysterically as the catastrophic scale of their mistake sank in. “Vivienne… sweetie, please… we’re family!

Think of your son! Think of our reputation!”

“My daughter Sophia is my only family,” I replied, looking down at the little girl in my arms. “And you let your secretary threaten to throw her out into a freezing rainstorm so you could parade a mistress around high society.”

Victor shifted his gaze to the federal prosecutors waiting behind him. “Execute the warrants.”

PART 5: The Reconstruction of Freedom

The detectives moved forward with cold, clinical efficiency. In front of two hundred of New York’s most prominent elite, Dominic was forcefully turned around, his arms pinned behind his back as the steel handcuffs clicked around his wrists.

He was formally read his Miranda rights for felony grand larceny, corporate embezzlement, wire fraud, and systemic identity theft.