“Underfunded by ninety percent. Three token soup kitchens kept running for the annual photo-op. The rest vanished offshore.”
Damon closed the ledger. “Draft the injunctions. File with the attorney general by eight tomorrow morning. Freeze every account, every vehicle, every property tied to Elisa Rochefort and the trustees.”
“Done. Now — what about the girl?”
Damon’s expression softened. “Lily is in the private medical wing at St. Jude’s. Severely malnourished — twelve pounds underweight. She’d been living in an abandoned warehouse behind the rail yards. Her guardian abandoned her two weeks ago.”
“Child services wants foster placement—”
“No,” Damon said flatly. “She stays under my direct guardianship. Judge Henderson already signed the paperwork. My penthouse has a secure floor, a pediatric nurse, and a trauma psychologist. She is not going into the system.”
Marcus smiled. “The tabloids will have a field day.”
“Let them.”
The Fall of Elisa Rochefort
The following Friday, the courthouse steps swarmed with reporters. Damon Cross — who almost never touched public litigation — had launched a full legal assault against the foundation and its president.