Chapter 18 - The Man at Every Birthday
Andrew Vale had attended every one of Lily's birthdays.
Andrew was arrested leaving his office.
He denied everything until Evan played the recording.
Then he asked for a deal.
Andrew's father had been one of William Stellan's overseas partners.
When William died, Andrew inherited access to part of the royalty network.
Patricia controlled the family side.
Andrew controlled the corporate side.
Together, they kept the stolen patents generating money through licensing companies that changed names every few years.
"Why stay close to me?" Daniel asked during the proffer interview.
Andrew smiled sadly.
"Because you were the one person who could reopen everything."
"So you watched me."
"I protected the system."
"You watched my daughter."
Andrew looked away.
"That went too far."
Daniel stood.
"The first lie went too far. Everything after that was distance."
Federal prosecutors charged Patricia, Andrew, Rebecca, and several financial intermediaries.
Thomas faced a separate investigation over Robert's death and his concealment of evidence.
Daniel stepped down temporarily from the foundation.
He turned the C.L.S. mirror archive over to investigators and independent historians.
Vanessa moved out.
She entered therapy and accepted supervised contact with their daughter.
The first visit lasted twenty minutes.
Vanessa brought no gifts.
She sat on the carpet and said, "I'm sorry I made you clean the cake."
Lily asked, "Were you mad at me?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"I was scared, and I acted mean. That was my fault. Not yours."
Daniel watched from the next room.
Lily thought about it.
Then she said, "Okay. But Daddy cleaned it."
Daniel almost smiled.
That night Evan called.
Investigators had calculated the value of the stolen royalty network.
Not forty-six million.
May you like
Not even one hundred million.
More than four hundred and thirty million dollars had moved through it over two decades.
