Chapter 8 - The Legal Reckoning
The federal investigation into Bennett Syndicate Holdings moved with terrifying, bureaucratic efficiency.
Within three weeks of the aborted Newport wedding, Robert Bennett was formally indicted on four counts of wire fraud, tax evasion, and corporate embezzlement. The evidence Chloe’s firm had compiled and quietly handed over to the Department of Justice was so airtight, comprehensive, and legally unassailable that Robert’s public defender didn't even attempt to enter a not-guilty plea at the arraignment.
Valerie, realizing that the sinking ship was about to drag her down into federal prison alongside him, wasted no time cutting her losses. She packed her remaining designer bags, emptied whatever hidden cash accounts she could scrape together, and fled back to her hometown in upstate New York, filing for legal separation before Robert even had his booking photo taken.
The great romance of Robert and Valerie—built entirely on mutual greed, superficial vanity, and financial deception—dissolved faster than cotton candy in a rainstorm.
Robert called Chloe from the county detention center holding facility on a Tuesday afternoon.
“Chloe,” his voice sounded old, broken, and hollowed out by fear. “Please... I’m facing ten years. The federal prosecutor is throwing the book at me. Can you... can you use your contacts? Can you talk to the auditors?”
Chloe held the phone away from her ear for a fraction of a second, listening to the sterile background noise of the detention center.
“No, Dad,” Chloe said, her voice entirely devoid of anger, which somehow made it infinitely colder. “I can’t help you. You made your choices. You chose a woman who assaulted your own daughter, and you told me to apologize or get out. Well, I got out. And now you get to live with the exact consequences of the foundation you built.”
“I’m your father,” he whispered desperately.
May you like
“You stopped acting like one a long time ago,” Chloe replied quietly.
She ended the call, tapped the screen to block the detention center’s outgoing number, and placed her phone face down on her desk. She didn't feel triumphant. She just felt... finished. The chapter was closed.
