Chapter 6 - The Trap is Set
Forty-eight hours later, the legal counter-offensive struck like a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky.
Instead of filing a quiet, standard divorce petition in family court, Mateo Vance filed a multi-million-dollar civil lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court, combining emergency custody injunctions, fraud charges against the estate, and criminal conspiracy referrals to the District Attorney’s office.
Furthermore, Mateo had served formal notice to every major banking institution associated with Villard Enterprise Holdings, freezing all joint accounts controlled by Meredith and Derek pending a forensic audit of the family trust.
Meredith Villard, accustomed to ruling her world with absolute, unquestioned impunity, found herself facing a nightmare she never saw coming.
It was Thursday afternoon when Meredith made her first desperate counter-move.
Joanna and Linda were resting at the Buckhead extended-suite when Joanna’s cell phone rang. The caller ID flashed a local number she hadn't seen in months, but instantly recognized.
Meredith Villard.
Joanna looked at Linda, then at Mateo, who happened to be reviewing paperwork at the dining table. Mateo nodded slowly, gesturing for Joanna to put the call on speakerphone.
Joanna took a deep breath and pressed accept.
“Joanna,” Meredith’s voice came through the speaker. Gone was the cool, patrician calm. Her tone was tight, ragged, and trembling with barely contained fury. “We need to talk. Right now.”
“I have nothing to say to you, Meredith,” Joanna replied, her voice steady and icy.
“Don't play games with me, you little leech!” Meredith hissed, dropping the polite facade entirely. “You think you can file these ridiculous lawsuits? You think a girl from an ordinary, trashy background like yours can touch the Villard family? My lawyers are already moving to have your claims dismissed as malicious extortion!”
“Your lawyers must not have read Mateo Vance’s brief yet,” Joanna replied smoothly. “Especially the part containing your audio recording telling Derek to let me die on the living room floor.”
A heavy, suffocating silence stretched across the phone line.
For ten seconds, the only sound was Meredith’s ragged breathing.
When she finally spoke, her voice had dropped into a venomous hiss. “You little bitch. You recorded that?”
“I didn't have to,” Joanna said calmly. “My phone did. And so did the prosecutor’s office when Mateo handed them the digital file yesterday morning.”
“Listen to me very carefully,” Meredith threatened, her voice shaking with rage. “Drop the lawsuits. Sign the nondisclosure agreement my attorneys are sending over this afternoon. Take a fifty-thousand-dollar cash settlement and disappear back to whatever cheap apartment you came from. Do that, and I won't make sure you never see a single dime of child support for those bastards you're carrying.”
Before Joanna could answer, Mateo leaned over the table and tapped the phone.
“Meredith,” Mateo interjected smoothly, his voice cool as ice. “This is Mateo Vance. I advise you to check your email inbox right now. We just filed an emergency motion to freeze your personal residential property in Buckhead and seize your passport on flight-risk grounds.”
“Who is this?!” Meredith shrieked.
“Your worst nightmare,” Mateo smiled. “See you in court, Meredith. Oh, and by the way? Tell Derek his mother isn't legally allowed to sign his legal briefs anymore. He’s going to have to learn how to tie his own shoes in front of a judge.”
Click.
Mateo hung up the call.
May you like
The room erupted into quiet laughter. Linda wiped a tear of pure vindication from her eye, while Joanna placed a hand gently over her stomach, feeling two strong, steady kicks from the twins.
They were fighting right along with her.
