"I walked out of the hospital carrying my three-year-old daughter's ashes when my husband called from dinner with his mistress and told me, ""The medical bill is paid. Stop bothering me and bring Hazel home

Six months later.

The trial of Julian Vance, Ximena Vance, and Victoria Hayes made national headlines daily.

Because of the forensic financial evidence I provided, federal prosecutors completely dismantled the Vance empire. Every asset Julian had ever acquired—the estate, the luxury cars, the private jet, the offshore funds—was seized by the government to satisfy tens of millions in fraudulent debts and restitution.

Victoria Hayes cut a deal with prosecutors, turning state's evidence against Julian to avoid heavy prison time, though she was still stripped of all stolen funds and sentenced to three years in federal prison for tax fraud.

Ximena received eight years for embezzlement.

On the final day of sentencing for Julian Vance, I sat in the front row of the federal courtroom wearing a simple navy suit.

Julian sat at the defense table. In six months, he had aged twenty years. His expensive suits were gone, replaced by a drab orange prison jumpsuit. His hair was messy, his cheeks sunken, his spirit completely broken.

The judge slammed his gavel down.

"Julian Vance, your actions demonstrate a degree of financial greed and callous disregard for human life that this court rarely sees," the judge declared sternly. "You systematically defrauded investors, abused your authority, and deliberately withheld life-saving medical care from your own daughter to fund an extravagant lifestyle."

Julian kept his head down, tears dripping onto the wooden table.

"On the counts of grand larceny, securities fraud, and criminally negligent homicide," the judge continued, "you are hereby sentenced to twenty-five years in maximum-security federal prison, without the possibility of parole for twenty years."

Julian let out a broken sob as the bailiffs cuffed his wrists.

As he was led away toward the holding cell, he looked back at me one last time. He mouthed the words, "I'm sorry, Genevieve."