Chapter 9 - The Ash and the Ledger
A month after the sentencing, the final restructuring of Mercer Medical Consulting was complete. The company was rebranded as Vance-Mercer Bio-Imaging, focused entirely on transparent, non-profit medical research data.
I stood in the penthouse office of the corporate headquarters, looking out over the Boston harbor. The heavy, dark furniture Nathan loved had been replaced with sleek, clear glass and open-air greenery.
Gerald walked in, holding a final legal release form. "It's completely over, Cassandra. The Vance pharmaceutical group settled out of court for fifty million in restitution. Nathan's assets have been entirely liquidated to pay off the medical victims. Diane and Brooke have officially relocated to a small, two-bedroom apartment in Ohio, living off Brooke's retail wage."
"And Elena Vance?" I asked, taking a sip of tea.
"Her father disowned her after the fraud scandal leaked. She's currently working as a junior real estate agent in Miami, stripped of her trust fund."
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I signed the final line of the corporate release form with a smooth, decisive stroke of my pen. "Thank you, Gerald. For everything."
"You did this yourself, Cassandra," Gerald smiled, taking the folder. "You just finally decided to stop playing the victim in someone else's story."
