Chapter 7 - The Depositions of the Cruel
Two weeks later, the civil deposition process began in a high-security federal court building in downtown Chicago.
Because of the overwhelming video evidence, Victoria Vance had fast-tracked the civil proceedings.
Sitting across a long mahogany conference table in handcuffs and orange prison jumpsuits were Marcus and Kellen Holloway. Their hair was unkempt, their faces pale, their designer suits replaced by coarse prison denim.
Their high-priced defense attorney—a man who usually charged two thousand dollars an hour—looked thoroughly exhausted, sitting beside stacks of federal indictments he knew he couldn't beat.
Victoria sat at the head of the table, with me sitting beside her, holding a clear plastic folder containing Zuri’s medical recovery reports.
"For the record," Victoria began, her voice echoing clearly in the silent room, "this is the civil deposition of Marcus Holloway regarding the night of December 24th."
Marcus glared at me across the table, his eyes filled with bitter, impotent hatred. "You ruined this family, Laura. You destroyed forty years of work for a broken porcelain plate."
"No, Marcus," I said calmly, looking him directly in the eyes without a single trace of the fear I had carried for thirty years. "You destroyed yourself. You spent your whole life making everyone believe you were a king. But when you put your boot on an eight-year-old child, you showed the entire world that you were nothing but a coward."
Kellen leaned forward, his handcuffs clanking loudly against the wood. "Laura, come on! I was drunk! I was just making a joke to diffuse the tension!"
"A joke?" Victoria interjected, pulling up an audio transcript. "You held your sister by the throat and shouted, 'THIS PARTY IS FOR STRONG GRANDKIDS ONLY' while an eight-year-old girl bled in sub-zero snow."
Kellen swallowed hard, looking down at his shackled wrists. "I... I didn't mean..."
"The court doesn't care what you meant, Mr. Holloway," Victoria said coldly. "The civil court has entered a default summary judgment against both of you. The entire Holloway family trust—amounting to forty-two million dollars—has been frozen and ordered transferred to a secure medical and educational trust for Zuri."
Marcus gasped, slamming his handcuffed fists onto the table. "You can't take my estate! That's my life's work!"
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"It's already done, Marcus," Victoria smiled dangerously. "The deed to the Oak Park estate was transferred to Laura this morning. And tomorrow, a demolition crew begins flattening the house to build the Zuri Donovan Pediatric Trauma Center."
Marcus leaned back in his chair, his eyes wide with utter horror as the magnitude of his absolute defeat finally settled over him.
