Eleanor: You handled that with so much dignity, Mark. Your father would have been proud of you.
Mark: I learned it from you, Grandmother. You didn't hesitate when you saw the truth.
They sat together on a plush sofa in the main living room while guests enjoyed refreshments in the adjacent courtyard. The high-key white aesthetic of the mansion seemed brighter now, cleansed of the lies that had filled its rooms for months.
Eleanor: What will happen to the company now that Julian is in custody?
Mark: The federal marshals handed over the master flash drive. My legal team is already recovering the stolen funds from the offshore accounts.
Eleanor: And Julian's debts?
Mark: The court will liquidate his personal assets to pay back his creditors. He won't own a single stock in Sterling Enterprises ever again.
Arthur Vance, the family's trusted senior attorney, walked into the room carrying a dark leather briefcase.
Arthur: Mark, Mrs. Sterling. I just came from the federal detention center downtown.
Mark: How are our former bride and best man doing, Arthur?
Arthur: Victoria is refusing to cooperate, but her father's former business associates are already singing to the prosecutors to reduce their own sentences.
Eleanor: And Julian?
Arthur: Julian signed a full confession ten minutes ago. He admitted to forging your father's signature on three separate real estate transfers.
Mark: That guarantees a conviction.
Arthur: Absolutely. He's looking at ten to fifteen years in federal prison. Victoria is facing at least twenty due to her father's syndicate connections.
Mark leaned back against the sofa cushions, closing his eyes for a brief moment as a heavy weight lifted from his shoulders.
Mark: Thank you, Arthur. Make sure our auditors review every single transaction from the last twenty-four months.
Arthur: I've already assigned a team of six forensic accountants to the task. Your estate is completely protected, Mark.
Eleanor: It’s strange, isn't it? I came here today expecting to shed tears of joy at a wedding.
Mark: And instead, you saved my life.
Eleanor: A grandmother's job is never done, Mark. Especially when snakes try to crawl into our garden.
Mark laughed softly, reaching over to pat his grandmother's white lace gloves.
Mark: Come on, Grandmother. Let's go join our real friends in the garden.