Chapter 17: The Civil Settlement
Chapter 17: The Civil Settlement
Because my parents’ personal assets were liquidated by the feds, Clara had gone after the one thing they couldn't touch: the secret multi-million dollar family insurance policy and an independent trust fund established by my maternal grandmother decades ago, which my father had never been able to legally access or dissolve.
The insurance company, terrified of a public trial exposing their association with the Bennett scandal, offered an unprecedented settlement to avoid a jury trial.
We sat in a conference room to sign the final papers. Madison was there with her new legal counsel, having successfully retrieved three-quarters of her stolen inheritance through the fraud prosecution.
The settlement was historic. I was awarded seven million dollars in damages for civil conspiracy and intentional infliction of emotional distress, while Sophie was awarded an independent ten-million-dollar trust fund, completely managed by Clara Sterling’s firm, ensuring she would be financially secure for the rest of her life.
Furthermore, my former architectural firm, terrified of a wrongful termination lawsuit tied to the scandal, settled out of court for an additional two million dollars and issued a public, front-page apology admitting they had wrongfully terminated me under pressure from Richard Bennett.
I signed my name on the final line of the settlement documents.
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"It's over, Evelyn," Clara said, leaning back with a smile. "You are officially a multi-millionaire, completely independent, and vindicated in the eyes of the law."
I looked out the window at the Chicago skyline. The city looked beautiful, no longer looming or threatening. The chains of my childhood were gone.
