Chapter 7 - The Deposition
The following morning at two o'clock in the afternoon, a formal emergency deposition was convened in the high-security conference room of the United States Attorney's Office in downtown Seattle.
Across the long metallic table sat Adrian Vale and Lenora Vale, both wearing orange federal corrections jumpsuits, their hands secured by belly chains and handcuffs.
Adrian looked gaunt, his polished charm completely shattered, dark circles carved deep under his eyes. Lenora, despite her prison attire, sat with a posture of rigid, delusional venom, glaring at me as if she could burn me alive with her eyes.
Beside them sat their court-appointed defense attorneys, looking utterly miserable.
At the head of the table sat Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Cole, flanked by Julian Vance, Detective Chen, and myself.
"This deposition is called regarding the emergency motion filed by Vale Capital to execute a patent reversion claim against Hart Biomedical," Attorney Cole announced, flipping open an official legal binder. "Mrs. Vale, your counsel filed a petition claiming fifty percent ownership of the primary oncology compound based on a 1996 partnership agreement."
"It's not a petition, Mr. Cole," Lenora spat out, her voice raspy. "It is an absolute legal right. Thomas Hart was a thief who built an empire on my father-in-law's genius! Evelyn Hart is sitting on a stolen throne!"
Adrian remained silent, staring down at his cuffed hands, avoiding my gaze completely.
"Is this the contract you are referring to, Mrs. Vale?" Julian asked smoothly, standing up and laying a yellowed, original parchment document onto the center of the table.
Lenora’s eyes bulged. She stared at the original wet-ink document from 1996, her lips parting in utter shock. "Where... how did you get that?! I had the key!"
"You had a key to a decoy box in Tacoma," I said, speaking for the first time. "The real contract remained safe in Box 408 at First Federal Bank."
"It doesn't matter!" Lenora shrieked, slamming her cuffed hands against the table, the iron chains rattling violently. "The contract is valid! Look at section four! The reversion clause is absolute! You have to surrender the patent!"
"Keep reading section five, Lenora," Julian said calmly, tapping the second page of the document with his pen. "In 2002, Thomas Hart executed a complete buyout of Richard Vale's estate following Richard's formal confession of tax fraud in Vancouver. Here is the cashier's check for one point five million dollars, signed by Richard Vale, explicitly relinquishing all future patent claims for himself and his heirs."
Lenora’s eyes scanned the attached 2002 addendum. The color drained from her face so fast she looked like a corpse sitting in an orange jumpsuit.
"No..." she gasped, her breathing turning ragged. "No... he... Richard told me he never signed anything..."
"Richard lied to you, Lenora," I said softly, looking her dead in the eyes. "Just like your son lied to me. Your family built an entire existence on deceit, extortion, and theft. And today, it ends."
Lenora slumped back into her chair, her rigid posture finally collapsing as she buried her face in her cuffed, trembling hands, weeping bitterly.
Attorney Cole turned to Adrian. "Mr. Vale... in light of this overwhelming evidence, the government is offering a final plea bargain. Full guilty pleas to corporate fraud, conspiracy, felony assault, and attempted patent theft. Thirty years in federal penitentiary without parole. If you reject this, we proceed to trial on federal murder conspiracy charges regarding the altered medical logs, which carries a life sentence."
Adrian looked up slowly. His eyes were completely hollow, devoid of hope, money, or power. He looked at his mother crying beside him, then looked across the table at me—the woman he had tried to break, the woman he had slapped in front of four hundred people.
"I take the plea," Adrian whispered, his voice barely audible.
"Adrian, no!" Lenora screamed, grabbing his arm. "Fight them! Fight her!"
"Shut up, Mother!" Adrian suddenly roared, turning on her with terrifying fury, his cuffs clanking. "You did this to me! You pushed me into this! You told me she was weak! You told me she was an idiot! She destroyed us!"
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I stood up slowly, picking up my leather briefcase. I didn't say another word to them. I didn't need to.
As I walked out of the interrogation room, the sound of Lenora's shrieks and Adrian's furious sobbing faded behind the heavy steel doors, locked away forever.
