Chapter 8 - The Reconstruction
After the trial, the court ordered the full forfeiture of Richard and Sarah’s assets. Because the money in the SV-RM Holdings account had been seized by the federal government, the judge ruled that the entire $1.2 million raised by the public—plus Richard’s personal assets and real estate holdings—were to be returned to me as the sole legal beneficiary.
Suddenly, I was a wealthy man. But every dollar felt like blood money. I couldn't spend it on myself. I couldn't buy a new truck, or a bigger house, or go on vacations. Every time I looked at my bank balance, I just saw Chloe’s tired eyes.
"You can't let the money sit there, Artie," Marcus told me one evening as we sat on my back porch. "And you can't throw it away. That money came from thousands of regular people who wanted to save a little girl. Use it to do what they wanted to do."
His words struck a chord. I realized that while I couldn't save Chloe, there were thousands of children in the city whose parents were currently sitting on those terrible hospital cots, watching their worlds fade because they couldn't afford a specific treatment or an expensive surgery.
I quit my job as an HVAC technician. I hired a team of reputable financial advisors and legal experts, and together, we established The Chloe Vance Memorial Foundation.
We bought an old, beautiful Victorian building downtown, just three blocks from the children's hospital. I didn't want it to look like a clinic. I wanted it to look like a home. We hired contractors to install the most advanced air filtration and climate control systems available—a job I personally designed and supervised to ensure the air inside was completely pure, warm, and safe for children with compromised immune systems.
We painted the walls with bright murals of castles, space stations, and magical forests. In the center of the main lobby, we built a huge, beautiful reading tree.
May you like
And right at the entrance, inside a secure, beautiful glass display case, sat Barnaby. He had been returned to me by the FBI after the trial. His torn ear had been professionally restored, and he sat there proudly, a little bronze plaque underneath him reading:
“Barnaby – The Protector of Secrets. Because of him, the light always wins.”
