Chapter 19 - The Rebuilding
Ophelia was convicted on all major counts. When the judge handed down the prison sentence, her face registered the pure shock of a woman who genuinely believed the rules of reality did not apply to her. Fairchild Meridian was forced into a massive restructuring. Julian stepped in as the interim reform chair, not as a prince inheriting a throne, but as a man tasked with cleaning up a disaster.
"My family profited from systems that harmed you," Julian told the warehouse workers during his first address. "I cannot change that by asking for trust. I can only make sure trust is no longer required where enforceable rights should exist." He and Nora worked tirelessly. The Vesper Crown Hotel was converted into a public ethics institute and a legal clinic for workers. Their son, Miles, was born into a world stripped of billions of dollars, but rich in a newly forged, hard-won honesty.
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