Chapter 7 - The Desperate Strike
By late afternoon, news of the financial fraud arrests rocked the local business community. Wendy's father, Harrison Vance—a prominent and arrogant attorney—frantically tried to use his political influence to quash the elder abuse charges against his daughter, but the evidence was too overwhelming. The photographs of my mother's bruises, combined with the sworn statements from Adult Protective Services, made Wendy toxic to anyone who tried to defend her.
I spent the afternoon at home with Jessi. For the first time in months, she was relaxed, sitting in the sunroom, sipping tea, and watching birds in the backyard without fear of being locked away or berated.
Around 5:00 PM, a sharp, violent banging echoed from the front door.
I told my mother to stay in the kitchen, walked to the hallway, and looked through the security camera feed on my phone.
It was Wendy. She looked completely disheveled, her mascara smeared down her face, her designer clothes crumpled. Behind her, standing on the driveway, was her father, Harrison, looking furious in a dark tailored suit.
I unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open, keeping the heavy security screen locked.
"Luca!" Wendy screamed, slamming her palms against the screen. "Open this door right now! You ruined Julian! You froze my personal accounts! I don't even have enough money to pay for a hotel!"
"You don't need a hotel, Wendy," I said through the screen. "You should be saving your energy for your bail hearing tomorrow morning."
"You arrogant little bastard!" Harrison yelled, stepping up onto the porch, pointing a heavy gold-ringed finger at my face. "Do you know who I am?! I will tied you up in litigation for the next decade! I will sue you for intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and illegal eviction! I will take this house from you!"
I looked at Harrison with absolute calm. "Harrison, before you file a single motion in court, I strongly suggest you check your firm's email inbox."
Harrison sneered. "What are you talking about?"
"Two hours ago, I sent a formal notice of discovery to your senior managing partners," I stated, pulling my hands into my pockets. "It turns out Wendy used your firm's escrow account to launder fifty thousand dollars of the money she stole from my mother's retirement fund. That makes your law firm an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal elder abuse and grand larceny case."
Harrison’s face went from deep red to stark white in a matter of seconds. "What... what did you say?"
"Check your phone, Harrison," I repeated smoothly.
Harrison frantically pulled his phone from his pocket, his hand shaking. As he read the high-priority email notification from his firm's ethics committee, his phone almost slipped from his fingers.
"Wendy... what did you do?" Harrison whispered, turning to look at his daughter in horror. "Did you use my escrow account?"
Wendy stammered, taking a step back on the porch. "Dad... Julian said it was safe! He said nobody would ever check a routine escrow transfer!"
"You stupid girl!" Harrison roared, his arrogant composure evaporating instantly as he realized his thirty-year legal career was crumbling around his ears. "You brought federal auditors into my firm?!"
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"Dad, help me!" Wendy sobbed, grabbing his coat. "Tell him to drop the charges!"
"He can't drop federal charges, Wendy," I said, looking down at both of them. "And neither can you. Now get off my property before I have the sheriff arrest you both for criminal trespass."
