Chapter 9 - Richard's Confrontation
Gabriel didn’t need to ask to know who this was. The broken man was Richard Donovan. The chief financial officer Victoria had framed 5 years earlier. Richard moved toward Victoria. “Five years,” Richard said. “Five years I searched for you. Five years I lived in hell because of you.”
Richard stood there, staring at Victoria. Then he began to speak: “When you framed me, I thought the truth would come out. But it wasn’t. You forged the evidence too perfectly. I, a man of 50 with 30 years of honest work behind me, was convicted as a thief. No one wanted to hear my explanation. I became an outcast overnight. My wife—she didn’t believe me. She took our daughter and left. My daughter was only 15 when it happened. One day, she looked at me with eyes full of disappointment and said she was ashamed to have a father like me. That was the day my heart died.”
Many guests were crying as they listened. Richard went on: “After I lost my job and my family, I lost my home. No one wanted to hire a man convicted of embezzlement. I lived on the streets of Boston for 3 years. Sleeping under bridges. Begging meal to meal. There were nights I stood on a bridge, looking down at the black water beneath, and wondered if jumping would be easier. I didn’t die because I wanted the truth. I wanted to prove I was innocent. And finally, today I found you.”
Victoria collapsed at Richard’s feet. “I’m sorry! I’ll do anything to make it right for you! Money, your name, anything you want!”
Richard laughed. “Make it right? Can you give me back five years of my life? Can you give me back the nights I slept under bridges? Can you give me back my family? Can you give me back my daughter? Can you give me back the honor I lost?”
Evelyn walked to Richard and offered him a handkerchief. “Thank you,” he whispered. Evelyn only gave a small nod. She understood his pain.
Gabriel walked up to Richard. “How much was taken from you?” Gabriel asked.
“$2 million,” Richard answered. “But I don’t need money. Money can’t erase 5 years of hell. What I need is my honor. I need my name cleared.”
“You’ll have both,” Gabriel said. He turned toward Victoria. “I’ll repay every cent she took from you. $2 million from my personal assets. And I’ll make sure the truth becomes public. I have the best lawyers in Chicago. They’ll prove you innocent in court. And she will answer to the law for what she did to you. She will pay penny by penny.”
Richard stood there stunned. Tears of hope began to spill down his cheeks. “You—You believe me?”
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“I believe you,” Gabriel replied. “And I’ll make sure the whole world believes you, too.”
Richard cried like a child. This was the first time in 5 years someone had stood on his side. Gabriel placed a hand on Richard’s shoulder. “Justice should have come to you 5 years ago. I’m only helping it arrive late rather than never.”
