Chapter 8 - The Empire Crumbles
Armed with Chloe’s affidavit and the master ledger, the federal case against the Sterlings became a slam dunk. The ledger proved that Victoria had paid a Russian mercenary hacker a quarter of a million dollars to deploy the logic bomb in our servers.
The business fallout was catastrophic for the Sterling Holding Group. The moment the FBI raid hit the news, their investors panicked and pulled their funding. Their stock plummeted 80% in a single day. The board of directors held an emergency meeting and voted unanimously to oust Victoria as CEO and file for bankruptcy to protect their remaining assets.
The family that had looked down on our "little trucking project" was completely and utterly destitute.
The criminal trial began a month later. I was called as the star witness for the prosecution.
I walked into the federal courtroom wearing a pristine white suit, projecting the absolute authority of a woman who had weathered the storm. Victoria sat at the defense table, looking aged and fragile. The arrogance had been completely beaten out of her.
The prosecutor led me through my testimony. I played the recording of Julian's coffee shop confession. I recounted the night on the porch. I explained the forensic evidence of the cyber attack.
Victoria's defense attorney tried to cross-examine me, attempting to paint me as a bitter, vengeful ex-wife who fabricated the evidence to ruin her in-laws.
"Isn't it true, Ms. Vance," the defense attorney sneered, "that you were jealous of the Sterling family's social standing, and you used this divorce as an excuse to purge them from your company?"
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I looked directly at the jury, my voice ringing clear and steady in the silent courtroom. "I didn't purge them because of my divorce. I divorced Julian, and I fired his family, because they are thieves. They mistook my kindness for blindness, and they tried to steal the legacy my grandfather built. I merely protected my house."
The jury believed every word.
