Tessa Vance stood at the podium, glittering in a gold sequined gown, surrounded by local politicians and news cameras and wealthy donors.

Julian stood beside her, wearing his signature million-dollar smile, holding one of those enormous oversized checks meant to represent the family’s annual donation to children’s education.

It was, I would think later, the perfect setting, a stage the Vances had built for themselves, a shrine to the fraudulent image they had spent twenty years constructing, and it was about to become the stage for its demolition.

“Our family has always believed,” Tessa announced into the microphone, her voice ringing through the crowded hall, “that true leadership begins with generosity.