Eric took a step toward me. “I was going to pay it back, Clara. I swear.”
“That line works when you borrow twenty bucks from a wallet, Eric. Not when you spend two years systematically stealing nearly half a million dollars.”
“I did it for my sister!”
I looked at him with quiet, pitying sadness. “Did you rent hotel rooms for Chloe for your sister, too?”
He had no answer.
In the months that followed, the picture-perfect facade of the family dissolved completely.
Nebula Systems filed for Chapter 7 liquidation after forensic accountants uncovered widespread commingling of funds and tax fraud. Richard faced criminal indictments for wire fraud, while Sarah was named as a co-conspirator. Their marriage ended in a bitter, public divorce, with both blaming the other for the financial ruin.
Eric accepted a plea deal to avoid a lengthy trial, receiving a prison sentence for grand larceny and identity theft, alongside an absolute forfeiture of any claim to our marital assets.
