Chapter 10: The Retribution**
Arthur did not return to the corporate world with bluster or lawsuits. He used the sharpest weapon he possessed: his intimate knowledge of the Cross Energy financial books, gained during six months of merger negotiations.
Sitting at his desk while Lily peacefully built Lego castles on the rug nearby, Arthur spent forty-eight hours compiling a devastating dossier. It contained irrefutable proof of off-shore tax evasion, falsified environmental compliance reports, and systematic corporate bribery committed by Evelyn’s father, Robert Cross.
He didn't leak it to the gossip tabloids. He sent it directly to the Southern District of New York Federal Prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
By Thursday afternoon, news alerts flooded every television screen across the country. Federal agents raided the headquarters of Cross Energy. Robert Cross was taken into custody for fraud, and the company's stock collapsed by eighty percent within hours.
That evening, Arthur's private phone rang. It was Evelyn. Her voice was shrill, panicked, and unhinged.
"Arthur! You did this! You destroyed my family! How could you do this over some dead nobody from the gutter?"
Arthur listened calmly, his voice icy and completely devoid of emotion. "Her name was Clara Hughes. And the only thing destroyed today is the lie you lived in, Evelyn. Never call this number again."
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He ended the call, removed the SIM card, snapped it in half, and tossed it into the trash.
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