Chapter 8 - The Father's Embezzlement

The trial lasted three more days.

Patricia presented evidence of the shell company. The gambling debts. The money laundering. The affair.

Elena testified about the investigation. The surveillance. The text messages.

Grandpa testified about the trust fund. The bank statement. The private investigator.

By the end, the verdict was clear.

The judge ruled in my favor. She ordered my parents and Brandon to repay the $224,000 plus interest and legal fees. She ordered them to pay punitive damages of $100,000. And she referred the case to the FBI for criminal prosecution.

My father was arrested in the courtroom.

My mother was arrested outside.

Brandon was arrested at his home.

I watched them being led away in handcuffs. My mother was crying. My father was screaming. Brandon was silent.

I didn't feel joy. I didn't feel sadness. I just felt empty.

Grandpa put his arm around me.

"It's over," he said.

"No," I said. "It's just beginning."

I walked out of the courthouse into a crowd of reporters. They shoved microphones in my face and shouted questions.

"Ms. Chen, what do you have to say to your family?"

"Ms. Chen, do you regret pressing charges?"

"Ms. Chen, what's next for you?"

I stopped. I looked directly into the cameras.

"My family stole from me. They lied to me. They tried to destroy my future. But they failed. And now they're going to prison. That's all I have to say."

I got into Grandpa's car and drove away.

That night, I sat in my room and thought about everything that had happened. The birthday dinner. The bank statement. The trial. The verdict.

I had won. But I had also lost something. My family. My childhood. My innocence.

I thought about my grandmother. She had died when I was thirteen. She had always told me to be strong. To stand up for myself. To never let anyone take what was mine.

I had done that.

But I had also learned something else. Family isn't about blood. It's about trust. It's about love. It's about being there for each other.

My parents had never been there for me. They had been there for Brandon. They had been there for money. They had been there for themselves.

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But they had never been there for me.

And now they never would be again.