Chapter 8 - The Settlement
Three months later, the final settlement conference was held in a neutral federal arbitration room. The atmosphere was somber. The Sterling-Vance family was completely bankrupt; their assets had been seized by the government to pay for environmental cleanup fees, and their legal defense funds were completely dry.
Diego sat across from Valerie, wearing a plain green county jail uniform. He looked exhausted, older, his hair graying at the temples, the confident smirk gone forever. He was facing a mandatory ten-year sentence in a federal prison after agreeing to a plea deal.
His defense attorney looked at Clara Sterling with a defeated sigh. "We agree to all terms. We have no leverage to fight."
Clara read out the final divorce decree. "Diego Sterling-Vance will completely forfeit all remaining personal properties, including his interest in the Cherry Hills estate, which will be sold at auction. Valerie Pendelton will retain absolute, unencumbered ownership of her Capitol Hill condominium, along with a lump-sum payment of three million dollars from the liquidation of Vance-Global’s remaining clean assets as compensation for intellectual property theft and physical damages."
Diego looked up at Valerie, his eyes red and hollow. "Valerie... please. Just tell me one thing. Did you ever really love me? Or were you just waiting for a reason to destroy us?"
Valerie looked at the man she had once promised to share her life with. She remembered the early days of their relationship, before his family's toxic influence and his own deep-seated greed had turned him into a monster.
"I did love you, Diego," Valerie said, her voice clear and completely free of malice. "I loved the man I thought you were. I loved the man who promised to protect me. But you chose to look at me as a target. You chose to think that because I was kind, I was weak. The plate you broke over my head didn't just cut my skin, Diego. It woke me up. It reminded me who I am."
She stood up, signing her name on the final divorce document with a elegant, steady stroke of her pen.
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"You told me I had no idea who I was dealing with that night at dinner," Valerie said, looking down at him one last time. "But the truth is, you had no idea who you were dealing with."
Without waiting for him to reply, she turned her back on him and walked out into the crisp, beautiful autumn afternoon, a completely free woman.
