Chapter 6 - The Fall of Vance MediaWithin forty-eight hours of Daniel’s arraignment, Vance Media was in freefall.
Without Daniel there to manage the clients, and with the corporate accounts frozen, the employees began to panic. I stepped into the Vance Media offices on Broad Street at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, accompanied by a court-appointed receiver and two security guards.
The office was a sleek, loft-style space with glass walls and expensive mid-century modern furniture—all paid for with the loans Daniel had forged my name to secure.
The employees were huddled in the breakroom, whispering nervously, when I walked in.
"Good morning, everyone," I said, my voice calm and authoritative. "My name is Sarah Sterling. As the primary guarantor and silent partner of Vance Media, I am here to inform you that the company is entering a structured receivership due to severe financial irregularities committed by Daniel Vance."
A collective gasp went through the room.
"Are we losing our jobs?" a young designer asked, her eyes wide with fear.
"No," I replied. "I am personally funding a temporary payroll trust to ensure everyone is paid for their work over the next sixty days while we wind down operations and transition your contracts to a new, reputable agency. You will not lose a single dollar of your earned salary."
The relief in the room was palpable. They looked at me not as the quiet, invisible wife Daniel had occasionally brought to office parties, but as the savior of their livelihoods.
As I walked into Daniel’s private office, I saw Celeste sitting in one of the leather chairs. She was crying, her hand resting on her slightly swollen stomach, a designer handbag clutched tightly in her lap.
"Sarah," she whispered, looking up at me with a mixture of terror and guilt. "I... I didn't know. He told me you two were separated. He told me the apartment was his."
I walked over to the desk, sat down in Daniel’s leather chair, and looked at her. "He lied to you, Celeste. Just like he lied to me, and just like he lied to his clients. The apartment in Soho is leased under a corporate account that is currently being seized for fraud. You have thirty days to vacate the premises."
Celeste sobbed, her shoulders shaking. "I don't have anywhere to go! My family... they don't know about the baby. I don't have any money!"
I looked at her, and for a brief moment, the anger faded, replaced by a deep, quiet pity. She was young, foolish, and had been used by a predator who had promised her the world while stealing from his wife.
"I will not leave you on the street, Celeste," I said, sliding a business card across the desk. "This is a family law attorney who specializes in child support and maternal care. I have instructed her to represent you in securing child support from Daniel’s personal estate—what little is left of it after the state is finished with him. And I will cover your rent for the next three months so you can find a place to live."
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Celeste stared at the card, then looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. "Why... why are you helping me? After what he did... after what I did?"
"Because unlike Daniel and his mother," I said, looking out the glass window at the city below, "I know what family actually means."
