Chapter 7 - RETRIBUTION AND RECKONING
The legal fallout was swift and merciless.
Within forty-eight hours, news of the Vance family scandal hit the front pages of national financial gazettes and local news channels. Victoria’s social media accounts, once filled with thousands of envious followers, were flooded with millions of comments condemning her cruelty. Her fashion brand sponsors dropped her within hours, filing lawsuits for breach of moral clauses.
In the Lake Forest County Jail, reality set in hard for Richard and Eleanor. Denied bail due to flight risks and the sheer weight of financial fraud evidence uncovered during the forensic audit, they were forced to exchange their designer suits for orange jumpsuits.
Marcus refused to meet them in person, sending Jonathan Sterling to deliver the final legal blow.
Sitting behind the thick glass partition of the detention center, Richard looked haggard, his gray hair unkempt, his eyes bloodshot. "Tell Marcus I want to see him! He's my son! He can't let us rot in here!"
Sterling placed a thick stack of papers against the glass. "Mr. Vance has no interest in seeing you, Richard. These are the eviction notices for your private country club memberships, the foreclosure papers on your secondary properties, and the formal forfeiture of all family trust assets."
"He's destroying his own blood!" Eleanor wailed from the adjacent seat. "For that little nobody architect!"
"That 'nobody architect'," Sterling replied smoothly, adjusting his glasses, "has just been appointed the head of the Vance Family Charitable Foundation. She now controls every asset you once possessed. And her first act was to turn your Lake Forest estate into a specialized shelter and rehabilitation center for expectant mothers in crisis."
Richard’s face twisted in pure agony. The very mansion where they had forced Clara to sleep in a dark closet was now going to house women just like her—funded entirely by the wealth he had spent a lifetime trying to hoard.
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"He won't get away with this..." Richard whimpered, slamming his fist against the glass.
"He already has," Sterling said calmly, standing up and buttoning his jacket. "The trial is set for next month. Given the physical evidence, the recorded audio, and the corporate paper trail, the district attorney is seeking fifteen years without parole for you, ten for Eleanor, and five for Victoria. Have a good afternoon."
