My sister was smiling just before my young daughter fell into the hotel pool. When I rushed to save her, my father seized my arm and would not release me.

The fall of the Sterling Group was studied in business schools for years to come.

Without the capital to cover their debts, and with their primary accounts frozen by the federal government, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The board of directors, desperate to salvage whatever reputation they had left, stripped Arthur of his position as CEO.

The family mansion, the yachts, the private jets—all of it was seized by the bank to pay off the massive fines and creditors. Patricia was forced to move into a tiny, two-bedroom apartment, a far cry from the sprawling estate she had ruled over for decades. She spent her days crying to anyone who would listen, but the high-society friends she had spent her life cultivating vanished overnight. No one wanted to be associated with the disgraced Sterlings.

Mark pleaded guilty to securities fraud. To avoid a maximum sentence, he cooperated with the prosecution, turning over evidence against our father. The betrayal within the family was complete; the very monster Arthur had raised had turned on him to save his own skin. Mark was sentenced to four years in a low-security federal prison.

Arthur’s trial was short. The evidence I had provided was ironclad.

He was convicted of tax evasion, conspiracy, and financial fraud. The judge, noting Arthur's complete lack of remorse and his history of abusing his corporate power, sentenced him to eight years in prison.

The day Arthur was driven away to the federal penitentiary, I stood outside the courthouse. The press rushed toward me, microphones thrust into my face.

"Ms. Sterling! How do you feel about your father's sentencing?"

"Do you regret blowing the whistle on your own family?"