cooperation, along with the fact that the transfer had never actually completed, weighed heavily in her favor.
Richard faced far more serious charges. The hidden account, the text instructions, the photographed credentials, and his false statements to the bank all formed a pattern that proved impossible to explain away as any kind of honest misunderstanding. He ultimately pleaded guilty rather than risk a full trial.
His sentence included incarceration, supervised release, and restitution tied directly to the company’s losses that investigators could conclusively trace back to his fraud.
The last time I saw him in person was at his sentencing hearing. Eleanor sat directly behind him. Graham sat two full rows back from her. Madison sat beside her own attorney near the aisle.
No one was laughing that day.
Richard turned before the hearing began and found me sitting in the back row. For one brief moment, he looked almost like the man I had originally married, charming, composed, apparently still certain that one private smile could somehow repair whatever his public actions had shattered.
