Chapter 4 - The Snakes in Boston
The meeting was held in a private conference room on the 40th floor of a glass skyscraper in downtown Boston.
When I walked in, flanked by Eleanor and a team of Vance family lawyers, Richard and Victoria were already seated. Richard looked haggard, his suit slightly wrinkled, a sharp contrast to the polished billionaire I had known. Victoria was pale, her fingers nervously clutching her knock-off designer handbag. Julian sat in the corner, staring at his shoes, stripped of his usual arrogance.
Their lawyer, a slick-looking man named Henderson, stood up to greet us.
"Mrs. Vance, Miss Maya," Henderson said, offering a practiced smile. "I'm glad we could meet before this gets... messy. My clients are prepared to drop all charges regarding the unlawful destruction of their property in Colorado, provided we can reach a reasonable financial accommodation."
"Accomodation?" Eleanor chuckled, a sound that made Henderson’s smile falter. "You must be joking."
"We are talking about a ten-million-dollar settlement," Richard snapped, leaning forward, his eyes burning with desperation. "You destroyed my home! You left us with nothing! And Maya, you owe me! I raised you for seven years after your mother died!"
"You raised me?" I stepped forward, slamming my hands on the glass table. The room went dead silent. "You locked me out in a minus-ten-degree blizzard because I asked about my own school letter. You spent my mother’s trust fund on your mistress’s jewelry and your son's toys. You treated me like an unwanted servant in my own mother's house!"
"You have no proof of any of that!" Victoria interjected, her voice shrill. "It was a parenting lesson! You were being hysterical!"
I slid the silver key across the table.
"Actually, we do," I said calmly. "This key opens safety deposit box 402 at First National. Inside are the original ledger books from my mother's estate, showing every single unauthorized withdrawal Richard made over the last seven years. It also contains the medical records of the bruises I had when I was twelve, which you paid a private doctor to cover up."
Richard’s face went entirely white. He looked at the key, then at his lawyer.
Henderson slowly sat back down, his eyes darting between the key and the stack of financial documents our lawyers had just laid out on the table.
"Mr. Vexley," Henderson whispered to Richard. "You didn't tell me about these ledgers."
"She's bluffing!" Victoria hissed, grabbing Richard's arm. "Richard, tell them she's lying!"
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Richard didn't say a word. He knew he was defeated. He knew the Vance empire had finally caught up to him.
"Here is our accommodation, Richard," Eleanor said, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "You will sign a full confession of embezzlement, relinquishing any and all claims to the Vance estate, including your parental rights. In exchange, I will allow you to walk out of this room instead of being carried out by federal marshals. You have thirty seconds to decide."
