Chapter 7 - The In-Laws' Humiliation
By mid-afternoon, the news had spread like wildfire through the city’s high-society circles. A prominent member of the Vance family being arrested at Oakridge for battery, coupled with the sudden padlocking of Jessica’s boutique, was the juiciest scandal of the season.
At 3:00 PM, my father called me.
"Sarah, Mark’s parents are outside our house," he said, his voice tense but steady. "Richard is pounding on our front door, demanding that your mother sign an affidavit dropping the assault charges."
My blood flared. "Dad, keep the security gate locked. Do not engage with them. I'll be there in ten minutes."
I didn't go alone. I brought two armed private security guards from my firm's executive protection detail. When my town car pulled up outside my parents' quiet, tree-lined suburban home, Richard and Evelyn Vance were pacing the brick walkway, shouting through the intercom speaker.
"Helen! Open this gate right now!" Evelyn shrieked, her tailored knit suit trembling with rage. "Your ungrateful daughter has put my poor Jessica in a holding cell with common criminals! You tell your daughter to call the district attorney, or Richard will destroy your husband's business!"
"Richard can't even pay his own country club dues, Evelyn," my voice cut through the air like a gunshot.
The older couple spun around. Evelyn looked frantic, her aristocratic composure completely unraveled. Richard, a tall, gaunt man who had spent forty years pretending to manage ancestral estates that had been mortgaged to the hilt, glared at me with pure disdain.
"Sarah! You listen to me!" Richard bellowed, pointing a shaking finger. "You will drop these frivolous charges this instant! You will restore Jessica’s accounts and release Mark’s funds! How dare you humiliate our name like this?"
"Humiliate your name?" I laughed, taking slow, measured steps toward them while my two security guards flanked the driveway. "Your name is worthless, Richard. I’ve spent the morning reviewing the books. You haven't paid taxes on your ancestral estate in two years. You survived by having Mark skim money out of my accounts to pay your lifestyle loans."
Evelyn gasped, clutching her pearls. "That is a lie! Mark is an investment director!"
"Mark is an embezzler," I stated flatly. "And I have already forwarded the audit reports to the state financial regulatory board. If you do not step off my parents’ property within ten seconds, I will add criminal trespassing and witness tampering to the charges already filed against your daughter."
Richard’s face drained of color. "Witness tampering?"
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"Attempting to coerce the victim of an assault to drop charges is a felony, Richard," I said, stepping within inches of him. "Look at me. Look closely. Do you think I am the timid, eager-to-please girl you mocked at Sunday brunches? I am a senior litigator. I eat people like you for breakfast. Get off this property. Now."
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