Chapter 18 - The Fall of Marcus Hale
Marcus didn’t meet his son until Owen was three months old, in a sterile family-services room. He brought expensive, ridiculous gifts, which the supervisor forced him to leave outside. When Owen cried, Marcus was utterly incapable of comforting him, awkwardly demanding the supervisor fix it. He couldn't buy his baby’s love, and the realization disgusted him. Meanwhile, the federal government indicted Marcus for wire fraud, obstruction, and embezzlement. Faced with Vanessa’s evidence and flipped executives, Marcus took a plea deal. He was sentenced to federal prison, stripped of his vast wealth, though left with enough to pay his mandated child support. At his sentencing, he looked at me and said, “I did love you.” “You loved being the person who defined reality,” I replied coldly. “That is not the same as loving me.”
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