Chapter 12 - The Grand Cleanse of Corvino Manor
The following month was a whirlwind of legal, corporate, and personal transformation.
Dominic Vance was formally convicted of thirty-eight federal charges, including attempted murder, grand larceny, and corporate racketeering. He was sentenced to thirty-five years at a maximum-security federal penitentiary with no possibility of parole.
Arya had fled the state in disgrace. Stripped of her social standing, cut off from every Corvino trust fund, and blacklisted by every elite circle in the country, she was reduced to working as a low-level sales associate at a boutique in suburban Florida, avoiding the cameras of investigative journalists who chronicled the downfall of the Corvino scandal.
Dr. Albright lost his medical license and was indicted for criminal malpractice and administering controlled substances with intent to incapacitate.
Meanwhile, Corvino Manor underwent a complete metamorphosis.
I ordered every piece of furniture Arya had chosen, every painting she had hung, and every velvet drape that had blocked the sunlight to be removed and donated or incinerated.
The heavy, suffocating atmosphere of the mansion was replaced with wide-open French windows, warm oak flooring, and vibrant green gardens.
Clara’s surgery in Zurich had been a total, miraculous success. With the finest medical team on the continent, her body accepted the transplant flawlessly, and she was already recovering in a private alpine resort overlooking Lake Geneva, laughing on video calls with Tessa every afternoon.
Tessa had resigned from the home health agency.
She was now the Executive Director of the newly founded Corvino Hope Medical Foundation—an endowment of one hundred million dollars dedicated to funding high-risk spinal rehabilitation and pediatric organ transplants for families who couldn't afford specialized care.
She sat in the sunlit library of the manor, reviewing the first round of patient grants, wearing an elegant ivory cashmere sweater, looking radiant and peaceful.
I walked into the room without my braces.
The daily therapy, the clean nutrition, and the fierce drive to be whole again had worked miracles. Dr. Bennett had officially cleared me as fully recovered.
I walked to the back of Tessa’s chair, placed my hands on her shoulders, and leaned down to kiss the crown of her head.
“You’ve been working for four hours,” I said. “Take a break.”
Tessa leaned back against my chest, smiling up at me.
May you like
“I have forty applications from children who need physical therapy equipment, Vincent. Every hour I delay is an hour they wait.”
“The equipment is already ordered,” I whispered, sliding a velvet jeweler's box onto the desk in front of her. “Now open that.”
