Chapter 9 - THE AUDIT COMPLETED
The months that followed were a whirlwind of legal proceedings and financial reconstruction.
Thomas was charged with multiple counts of wire fraud,
tax evasion,
and conspiracy.
Because I had been the one to blow the whistle,
I was granted immunity from any of his business's liabilities.
I kept the house.
I kept my retirement.
I even managed to recover a portion of the Nevada funds that Patricia hadn't managed to hide.
Patricia Vance took a plea deal,
testifying against Thomas in exchange for a reduced sentence.
She told the court everything.
How Thomas had approached her.
How they had laughed about how easy I was to manipulate.
How he had planned to leave me with the debt of a bankrupt company.
Listening to her words was like being cut by a thousand tiny knives.
But each cut only made me stronger.
Thomas was sentenced to ten years in federal prison.
I visited him once,
just to sign the final divorce papers.
He sat behind the glass,
wearing an orange jumpsuit that made him look like a stranger.
“Susan, please,”
he said,
his voice a raspy plea.
“I did it for us.”
“No, Thomas,”
I said,
sliding the papers through the slot.
“You did it for a silhouette.”
“You traded twenty-two years for a one-way ticket to nowhere.”
I stood up,
feeling the weight of the last few months finally lift.
“I’m selling the house,”
I told him.
“The cedar siding,
the backyard,
the maple tree.”
“It’s all going.”
“Everything important is in my name now.”
I walked out of the prison and didn't look back.
The air outside was fresh and smelled of rain.
I drove to the house one last time.
The "For Sale" sign was in the yard.
The windows were dark.
I walked to the backyard and sat beneath the red maple tree.
October had arrived,
and the leaves were a brilliant,
shining red.
I realized then that the tree hadn't just survived the storm.
May you like
It had thrived because of it.
And so had I.
