Chapter 9 - The Fall of the House of Pierce
The final judgment came down at three o'clock on Thursday afternoon.
Gregory Pierce was sentenced to nine years in a federal penitentiary for corporate fraud, security violations, and conspiracy to commit identity theft. Evelyn Pierce, due to her age and medical condition following her arrest at the Hammond yard, was sentenced to twelve years at a medical detention facility in West Virginia, her remaining personal assets completely liquidated to pay the federal fines.
The Aster Street penthouse—the three-level museum of marble and glass where Clara had stood barefoot in the rain—was sold at public auction on Friday morning.
The buyer was an anonymous entity known as EF Trust.
At 4:00 PM, the rain had returned to Chicago—a soft, warm spring rain that washed away the last drifts of winter snow from the sidewalks of Oak Street. Gregory Pierce sat in the back of the federal transport van, his wrists cuffed to his waist, his eyes fixed on the small, barred window as the vehicle moved past his old tower.
The van stopped at the red light near Michigan Avenue.
Gregory looked out, his breath catching as he saw a black armored Maybach idling near the curb outside the boutique shops. The rear door was open.
Gabriel Falco stood on the sidewalk, holding a large black umbrella over Clara, who was carrying four-month-old Elena in a soft pink carrier against her chest. The baby was laughing, her small fingers reaching up to catch the warm raindrops falling from the edge of the silk fabric.
Clara looked up as the transport van idled beside them. She didn't look angry; she didn't look victorious. She simply adjusted the blanket around her baby’s feet, her emerald eyes meeting Gregory’s hollow, tear-stained gaze through the barred glass for one brief, final second.
May you like
Then she turned back to Gabriel, a warm, radiant smile breaking across her face as he leaned down to kiss her forehead, his large hand wrapping around her waist to guide her into the dry, leather-lined sanctuary of the Maybach.
The light changed. The transport van moved forward into the gray rain, leaving the Falco family behind in the bright, clean afternoon light.
