Chapter 7 - Public Exposure
The following Tuesday, the Department of Justice officially announced an indictment against Julian Vance and Camilla Price for wire fraud, corporate espionage, and grand larceny.
A press conference was scheduled outside the federal courthouse in downtown Boston. Dozens of reporters, cameramen, and news vans lined the marble steps under a crisp autumn sky.
I arrived in a sleek black limousine, accompanied by Malcolm and my legal team. As I stepped out onto the pavement, flashes exploded in my face, and reporters began shouting questions simultaneously.
“Ms. Vance! Did you know about your husband’s affair before the party?!”
“Ms. Vance! How will Northstar handle Aurelia’s remaining debt?!”
I walked up the courthouse steps with absolute composure, stopping before a bank of microphones set up near the entrance.
“Good morning,” I said, my voice quiet, steady, and commanding. “Today, justice begins for the employees and shareholders of Aurelia Systems.”
I gestured to Marcus, who held up a black leather briefcase.
“For eighteen months, my former husband and his co-conspirators operated under the assumption that secrecy and arrogance would protect them,” I continued. “They believed that by exploiting a quiet partner, they could dismantle a great company for personal profit. They were wrong.”
At that moment, a police van pulled up to the side entrance of the courthouse.
Federal marshals opened the doors, ushering Julian and Camilla out in handcuffs. Both were wearing orange prison jumpsuits. Camilla was crying, hiding her face from the cameras, while Julian walked with his chin pressed against his chest, unable to look in my direction.
As they were led past the press gallery, Julian caught my eye for a brief, terrible second.
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In his eyes, there was no longer any anger, no defiance, no arrogance. There was only a hollow, bottomless regret. He looked at the woman he had dismissed as a ‘decorative wife’—now standing on the steps of power, surrounded by press, controlling his destiny with a stroke of a pen.
I didn’t look away. I held his gaze until the heavy metal doors of the courthouse clicked shut behind him.
