Chapter 5 - The Snake Bites Back
Two weeks after David’s arrest, the legal warfare intensified. While David languished in county jail waiting for his formal arraignment, Julianne felt she had successfully dodged a bullet.
Sitting inside an upscale coffee shop in downtown Chicago, Julianne was wearing dark designer sunglasses, sipping an iced latte, and speaking on the phone with her publicist.
"Yeah, the story is blowing up," Julianne said, a smirk playing on her lip gloss. "I'm writing an exclusive tell-all essay for an online magazine. 'Tricked by a Corporate Criminal: My Story of Survival.' It's going to reposition my brand completely. I'll get thousands of new social media followers out of this."
"I wouldn't start drafting that essay just yet, Julianne."
Julianne gasped, nearly choking on her latte as a tall, sharply dressed woman with ice-blue eyes sat down uninvited at her table. It was Eleanor Vance, Maya’s lead attorney, accompanied by Detective Miller.
"Who the hell are you?" Julianne snapped, clutching her designer handbag. "I have an immunity agreement with the federal prosecutor! You can't touch me!"
"Your immunity agreement with the DOJ covers tax fraud and corporate embezzlement charges related to David Vance," Eleanor said smoothly, opening a thick manila envelope and sliding several photographs across the table. "It does not, however, cover grand larceny, wire fraud, and identity theft committed against Mrs. Maya Vance."
Julianne’s smirk vanished. She looked down at the photos. They were high-resolution security camera stills showing Julianne using a duplicate black credit card at luxury boutiques in Miami, Paris, and Nassau over the past six months.
"David gave me that card!" Julianne spat, though her voice wavered. "He told me I could use it!"
"David Vance gave you a card that was linked directly to Maya Vance’s private family trust account—a separate legal entity that David had no legal authorization to draw from," Eleanor explained with cold precision. "Over the past six months, you personally signed for over $350,000 worth of luxury goods, jewelry, and spa retreats using Maya’s personal funds."
"That's... that's a civil matter!" Julianne stammered, her face turning pale. "Maya can sue me for the money back! I'll return the bags!"
"It was a civil matter," Detective Miller chimed in, leaning forward. "Until we tracked the wire transfers you made from those purchases back into an offshore account registered under your own mother's name in Neviss. You weren't just spending money, ma'am. You were systematically fencing stolen assets and laundering them."
Julianne felt the air leave her lungs. "No... no, David said—"
"David used you, and you used him," Eleanor said, pulling out a legal summons. "Federal prosecutors have just revoked your immunity deal due to failure to disclose secondary criminal acts. State troopers are outside right now to arrest you for grand theft and money laundering."
Julianne looked toward the front glass window of the coffee shop. A police cruiser was parked at the curb, its lights flashing red and blue. Two officers were walking toward the entrance.
"Wait! Please!" Julianne cried out, her composure completely shattering as tears ruined her heavy mascara. "I didn't know about the kid! I swear I didn't know Lily was sick! David told me Maya was just being crazy! I didn't want anyone to die!"
May you like
"Your ignorance doesn't erase your greed," Eleanor said softly, gathering her papers. "Enjoy the consequences."
As the officers entered and placed Julianne in handcuffs right in front of the horrified patrons of the coffee shop, Maya watched from across the street inside a dark SUV. She did not feel joy. She felt only a quiet, solemn sense of order being restored to a chaotic, cruel world.
