Chapter 10 - REBUILDING FROM THE ASHES
Two years passed.
The name "Vance" had become nothing more than a cautionary footnote in the annals of Wall Street history—a textbook case of arrogance, corporate corruption, and complete moral bankruptcy.
In Pollock Federal Penitentiary, Dominic Vance’s life was reduced to a six-by-eight-foot concrete cell, an iron cot, and twelve-hour shifts in the prison laundry room, scrubbing industrial linens for twenty-three cents an hour.
His hands, once manicured and accustomed to signing multimillion-dollar contracts, were now calloused, scarred, and cracked from bleach. His hair had turned completely gray, and his body was thin and stooped from years of prison rations and the crushing weight of isolation.
Every day, during his one hour of recreation in the concrete yard, Dominic would stare at the television screen mounted in the common room.
On this particular afternoon, the national news network was broadcasting the annual Forbes Women of Power Summit.
"And tonight's top honor," the news anchor announced, "goes to Audrey Montgomery, CEO of Aegis Global and founder of the Montgomery Global Initiative. Under her visionary leadership, Aegis has funded over one hundred pediatric hospitals across the globe while maintaining a carbon-neutral infrastructure development portfolio."
The screen cut to live footage of Audrey standing at the podium in Geneva, Switzerland.
She was stunning. Radiant with health, grace, and unmatched authority, she spoke with the calm confidence of a woman who commanded an empire not with fear, but with wisdom and purpose.
Beside her, holding her hand as she accepted the international humanitarian award, was Dr. Alexander Reed. On Audrey’s left ring finger, catching the bright stage lights, was a simple, elegant sapphire ring.
The news anchor smiled. "Miss Montgomery and her husband, renowned trauma surgeon Dr. Alexander Reed, also announced this morning the birth of their healthy twin daughters, Grace and Faith Montgomery-Reed."
Dominic fell to his knees on the cold concrete floor of the prison recreation room.
Twins.
Audrey had children. She had built a beautiful, thriving family with a man who truly loved, respected, and cherished her.
And Dominic was sitting in a cage, barren, forgotten, and utterly alone, with nothing to keep him company except the ghost of the child he had allowed his mother to destroy.
A guard tapped his nightstick against the iron bars. "Vance! Break's over. Back to the laundry."
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Dominic slowly climbed to his feet, wiping the bitter tears from his hollow cheeks, and shuffled back into the darkness of the cell block.
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