Chapter 9
Chapter 9: The Public Reckoning
By Thursday evening, the internet was buzzing. My mother’s post had gone viral within our social and business circles. 'Local Tech Billionaire Leaves Family Homeless Over Personal Disagreement,' read one headline from a sensationalist local blog.
My mother had gone on a local radio show, weeping publicly about how her "sweet, artistic youngest son" was thrown onto the street by his ruthless, power-hungry older brother.
The phone calls from investors and board members were starting to trickle in. Perception is everything in the US business market, and a toxic family scandal can tank stock prices faster than a bad fiscal quarter.
"Julian, we need to issue a generic corporate apology statement," our PR director urged during an emergency Zoom meeting. "Just say it's a private family matter and that you love your family."
"No," I said, my face a stoic mask on the screen. "We don't play defensive. Marcus, is the file ready?"
"It’s a masterpiece," Marcus said, sharing his screen.
On the display was a meticulously formatted timeline spanning a decade.
2018: $45,000 to settle a DUI cover-up for Ryan Vance.
2020: $120,000 to cover up embezzlement charges at his previous "startup" funded by me.
2022: $250,000 in unpaid luxury apartment leases and credit card debts settled by Vance Logistics.
Total amount spent supporting Ryan Vance: $2.4 Million.
Attached were copies of the cleared checks, signed non-disclosure agreements, and invoices, all paid from my personal and corporate accounts. At the very top of the press release was a high-definition video clip—the restaurant's security footage from Sunday night, which Marcus had quietly acquired.
The video clearly showed Ryan smirking, taking Maya's handmade gift, and aggressively throwing it against her chest before mocking her. It showed my mother laughing. It showed my father chuckling. And it showed me calmly standing up to protect my child.
"Deploy it," I ordered. "To every media outlet that ran my mother's story. Send it to the board. Send it to our shareholders."
May you like
The PR director gasped as she read through the document. "Julian... this will completely destroy your parents' social standing. It will ruin Ryan's life permanently. He will never get a job, a loan, or a lease in this city again."
I looked at the camera. "He should have thought about that before he called my daughter's love rubbish."
