Chapter 4 - THE SISTER-IN-LAW’S SURPRISE
Three days after Christopher’s arrest, the fallout began to spread through the rest of the Vance family tree.
I was sitting in my newly renovated office at Apex Global, reviewing the takeover documents for Vance Logistics, when my assistant, Chloe, knocked on the door.
"Mrs. Vance—sorry, Dr. Thorne," Chloe corrected herself quickly. "Your sister-in-law, Veronica, is downstairs in the lobby. She’s demanding to see you. Security said she’s making quite a scene."
Veronica was Christopher’s younger sister—a thirty-two-year-old socialite who had never held a real job in her life, funded entirely by a "family trust" that, as I had recently discovered, was actually funded by my quarterly corporate dividends.
"Send her up, Chloe," I said smoothly, leaning back in my leather chair. "And tell security to stand by outside my door."
Two minutes later, the double doors of my office slammed open.
Veronica stormed in, wearing giant oversized sunglasses, a fur coat, and carrying a five-thousand-dollar handbag. Her face was flushed red with fury.
"You monster!" Veronica screamed, slamming her handbag onto my oak desk. "What have you done to my family?! My brother is sitting in a filthy jail cell, my mother is sleeping in a terrible motel, and my credit cards were declined at the spa this morning!"
I looked down at my golden fountain pen, cap turned, completely unbothered.
"Good morning, Veronica," I said gently. "Take a seat."
"I am not sitting down!" she shrieked. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is?! My friends are texting me! The Daily Gossip ran a headline about Christopher’s arrest! You are dragging our family name through the gutter!"
"Veronica," I said, setting my pen down and looking at her over my reading glasses. "Whose name was on the credit card that was declined at the spa this morning?"
Veronica blinked, momentarily caught off guard. "It’s... it’s the Vance Family Trust card!"
"And who deposits money into the Vance Family Trust every month?" I asked.
"My brother!" she declared proudly. "Christopher manages the trust!"
"Christopher hasn't put a single dollar into that trust in four years, Veronica," I revealed, pulling up a digital spreadsheet on my desktop monitor and turning it toward her. "Look at the screen."
Veronica squinted, looking at the line items.
"Every single deposit—twenty thousand dollars a month—came directly from my personal consulting account," I explained. "I was funding your lease on your Manhattan apartment. I was paying for your Pilates classes, your trips to Aspen, and your designer wardrobe. I did it because Christopher begged me to 'help his little sister get on her feet.'"
Veronica’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"For four years, you treated me like an outsider," I continued, my voice calm, precise, and lethal. "You made snide comments about my family at Thanksgiving. You called my mother's heirloom ring 'cheap' at Christmas. And all the while, you were living off my paycheck."
"I... I didn't know..." Veronica stammered, her arrogant posture instantly deflating.
"You didn't care to know," I corrected her. "You preferred the lie because it kept you comfortable. But the gravy train has officially derailed, Veronica. Yesterday morning, I dissolved the Vance Family Trust."
Veronica gasped, grabbing the edge of my desk. "You... you canceled my credit cards?!"
"I canceled the cards, I instructed my legal team to initiate eviction proceedings on your Manhattan apartment—which is also owned by my holding company—and I filed a formal demand for the return of fifty thousand dollars in unapproved transfers made over the last six months."
Veronica fell back into the leather armchair, her face pale, all her former arrogance evaporated.
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"Savannah... please," Veronica whimpered, her eyes welling with real tears now. "I have no money! I don't have a job! Where am I supposed to go?!"
"I suggest you do what you told me to do at dinner three years ago," I said, offering her a cold, brilliant smile. "Get a job, work hard, and learn the value of a dollar. Now get out of my office before I have security remove you for trespassing."
