Chapter 5 - The Frozen Kingdom
Within forty-eight hours of the explosive shareholder meeting, the collapse of Julian Vance and Selina Cole was the lead story on every major financial news network in the country. Headlines screamed across screen banners: VANCE GLOBAL CEO ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER AND $50M EMBEZZLEMENT; PREGNANT WIFE TAKES CONTROL.
While Julian and Selina sat in separate holding cells at the county jail, unable to meet the ten-million-dollar cash bail set by an incensed judge, I took my seat at the head of the boardroom table on the top floor of Vance Global.
The remaining board members—men who had previously dismissed me as merely 'Julian's quiet wife'— sat in complete, cowed silence.
"Effective immediately," I said, my voice echoing off the glass walls, "all projects initiated by Julian Vance are suspended pending a complete independent audit. The fifty million dollars stolen from the employee pension fund has been located in the Cayman accounts, and my legal team has already initiated freezing orders to return every cent to our workers."
The lead board member, a stubborn elderly investor named Marcus Sterling, leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. "Mrs. Vance, we appreciate your actions in exposing the fraud, but you are eight months away from delivering twins, and you have no executive experience running a multi-billion-dollar firm. The market demands stability. The board suggests appointing an interim CEO from our senior partners."
I smiled—a sharp, cold smile that made Marcus sit back slightly.
"Mr. Sterling," I replied smoothly, sliding a thick blue binder across the glass table to him. "You seem to forget that before I married Julian, I was a senior partner at Deloitte, managing forensic audits for Fortune 500 tech firms. Furthermore, my personal holding company just purchased Marcus Sterling Enterprises' distressed debt from Chase Bank this morning. If you vote against my appointment as Chairwoman today, I will call in your fifteen-million-dollar loan by five o'clock this afternoon."
Marcus opened the binder, scanned the legal documents, and his face turned bright red. He closed the folder slowly, swallowed hard, and cleared his throat.
"All those in favor of appointing Nora Vance as Executive Chairwoman and Acting CEO," Marcus said quietly, raising his trembling hand, "raise your right hand."
Every single hand in the room went up instantly.
"Motion passed unanimously," I said, closing my laptop. "Meeting adjourned. Get back to work."
While I reclaimed the empire Julian had tried to steal, Julian’s life in the county detention facility was rapidly turning into a living nightmare.
Because his assets were completely frozen by the federal government due to the grand larceny and embezzlement charges, Julian couldn't pay his high-priced corporate defense lawyers. His primary attorney resigned from the case on the third day, leaving Julian with a overworked public defender named Gary Woods.
Sitting in the cramped, sanitized visitor room behind a thick panel of bulletproof glass, Julian wore an orange jumpsuit, his hair unwashed, dark circles carved deep beneath his eyes.
Across the glass sat Selina, wearing a matching orange jumpsuit, her designer hair and fingernails ruined. This was the first time they had been allowed in the same room since their arrest, separated by steel partitions and heavy wire mesh.
"You stupid bastard!" Selina hissed through the small metal speaker, her eyes burning with pure rage. "You told me you wiped the smart-home systems! You told me she was unconscious! How did she record us on her watch?!"
"Don't you dare scream at me, Selina!" Julian shouted back, slamming his hand against the glass. "You lied to me! You stole fifty million dollars from my company! You used me to try and murder my wife!"
"Your wife?!" Selina let out a bitter, manic laugh. "You stabbed her twice, Julian! You stepped right over her body and told me we were free! Don't try to play the innocent victim now! The prosecutor offered me a plea deal this morning!"
Julian froze, his heart dropping into his stomach. "A plea deal?"
"If I testify against you on the attempted murder and feticide charges," Selina whispered, a nasty, sharp smirk returning to her lips, "they’ll drop the attempted murder charge on me down to accessory after the fact. I'll do five years in a minimum-security facility. You? You're going to get life without parole."
"Selina... no... please," Julian pleaded, his voice cracking as he pressed his palms against the glass. "We can fight this together! I loved you! I gave up my life for you!"
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"You were a mark, Julian," Selina said coldly, standing up from her metal stool. "An arrogant, weak man with an ego so big it was ridiculously easy to manipulate. I never loved you. I wanted Vance Global’s money. And now you’re going to spend the rest of your life in a steel cage."
She turned and walked back toward the guards, leaving Julian screaming her name against the cold glass until the guards forced him back into his cell.
