Chapter 4 - The House of Cards
My father did not simply fire Julian. He orchestrated a public execution.
Within forty-eight hours, Vance Enterprises filed a massive civil lawsuit against Apex Media for corporate espionage, intellectual property theft, and conspiracy. The lawsuit explicitly named Vanessa Croft and Julian Sterling as the primary conspirators.
The story exploded across the financial news networks. Julian’s face, alongside Vanessa’s, was plastered across every major publication. My father made sure the details of the affair were subtly leaked to the tabloids, framing Julian not just as a corporate traitor, but as the monster who was in bed with his co-conspirator while his six-year-old daughter died.
I watched it unfold from the safety of my father’s estate.
Julian’s world collapsed overnight. Because the assets were frozen, his credit cards were declined. The locks on our marital home had been changed, and security barred him from entering. He was forced to move into a cheap motel on the outskirts of the city.
Vanessa, realizing that her career was effectively over and that Julian was now a penniless liability, did what rats always do when the ship is sinking. She turned on him.
May you like
Apex Media released a public statement throwing Julian entirely under the bus, claiming Vanessa was manipulated by him and that she had no idea the data was stolen. She filed a restraining order against him the same day she dumped him.
Julian had sacrificed his wife, his career, and his daughter’s final moments for a woman who discarded him the second his wallet ran empty.
