Chapter 7 - The Gathering of the Wolves
Two weeks after the arrests, the true test of Skylar’s resolve arrived in the form of Derek’s mother, Eleanor Vance. Eleanor was a proud, formidable matriarch from Coral Gables who had spent her entire life shielding her son from any consequences, convinced that Derek was a golden child who could do no wrong. She had always treated Skylar like an administrative assistant who had gotten lucky by marrying her son, frequently making backhanded remarks at holiday dinners about Skylar’s "lack of family pedigree" and her "dry, corporate personality."
Eleanor arrived at the Edgewater building without an invitation, demanding to be let up to Unit 1402. When the concierge refused per Skylar’s strict instructions, Eleanor called Skylar’s phone, her voice shaking with a mixture of aristocratic fury and maternal desperation.
"Skylar! Let me up this instant!" Eleanor commanded into the receiver. "What you are doing to my children is an absolute abomination! You have locked my son in a federal cage over a domestic misunderstanding! You have ruined Suzanne’s reputation! They are Vances, Skylar! You cannot treat them like common street criminals!"
Skylar stood on her balcony, looking out at the turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay, her face completely calm under the warm morning sun. The burn dressing had been removed yesterday, leaving a long, pink scar across her left cheekbone—a permanent mark of the fire she had survived.
"They are common street criminals, Eleanor," Skylar said, her voice dropping into a register of absolute, ironclad finality. "In fact, they’re worse. They’re thieves who used my name, my business, and my network to steal over a hundred thousand dollars from my company. And your golden son threw boiling liquid into my face because I refused to let his greedy sister bleed me dry for a fourth time."
"It was an accident!" Eleanor shrieked into the phone. "Derek told me the mug slipped from his hand because he was stressed! He’s under an immense amount of pressure because you’re so cold to him, Skylar! You don't know how to support a husband! You’re obsessed with your numbers, with your shipping containers, with your silly little career! You drove him to this!"
"The federal grand jury didn't think it was an accident, Eleanor," Skylar replied, her voice cutting through the older woman’s screams like a diamond saw. "They just returned a formal indictment this morning. Derek is facing eighteen counts of federal wire fraud. Each count carries up to twenty years. If you want to spend your retirement savings on his defense lawyers, go ahead. But you will never step foot in this apartment again, and you will never speak to me again."
"You heartless bitch!" Eleanor screamed. "You’re destroying our family name!"
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"Your family name is currently a federal case number, Eleanor," Skylar said quietly. "Goodbye."
She clicked the phone off, blocked the number permanently, and called the front desk concierge. "Have security escort the woman in the lobby off the property immediately. If she refuses to leave, call the Miami-Dade police and have her arrested for trespassing."
