Chapter 6 - The Fugitive's Mistake
The police caught Victoria not because of brilliant detective work, but because of her own incurable vanity.
It was the fifth week of my stay at the Lindell Institute. I was finally able to stand between the parallel bars for three full minutes without the assistance of the chest harness, my left leg slowly regaining its dull, heavy sensation. I was sitting in the courtyard, a blanket over my lap, when Detective Vance walked through the garden gates.
He had a look of grim satisfaction on his face.
"We got her, Dr. Brennan," he said, sitting on the stone bench opposite me.
My heart skipped a beat. "Where?"
"A boutique luxury resort in Savannah, Georgia," Vance said, shaking his head in disbelief. "She checked in under an alias—Valerie Brennan—but she used her actual personal credit card to book an exclusive, three-thousand-dollar-a-night bridal spa package. The hotel’s automated high-value transaction system flagged the name against our federal fugitive database. The local sheriff’s department picked her up while she was getting a facial."
I closed my eyes, a wave of profound relief washing over me, followed immediately by a sharp ache of sorrow. A bridal spa package, I thought. My spine is held together by metal screws, and she was worrying about her complexion for a wedding that was never going to happen.
"She’s currently being extradited back to the state," Vance continued. "The District Attorney has upgraded the charges. Because of the spine specialist's definitive report confirming 'Assault-related vertebrae fracture' and the security footage showing her flight from the building, they are charging her with First-Degree Aggravated Assault, Criminal Reckless Endangerment, and Flight to Avoid Prosecution. The DA is refusing bail."
"What about her fiancé?" I asked. "The Sterling family?"
"Charles Sterling’s father is a federal judge, Elena," Vance said quietly. "They are incredibly sensitive to public scandal. The moment the news broke that Victoria was arrested as a fugitive at a luxury resort while her sister was in a spinal rehab unit, the Sterling family issued a public press release. The engagement is officially broken off. They’ve canceled the Belmont Estate contract, and Charles has left the country on an extended business trip to London. She has been completely dropped."
Two days later, Diana Vance—the same fierce, uncompromising family attorney who had handled high-profile custody and estate battles across the state—walked into my room. She had been retained by Mr. Patterson on my behalf to handle the civil side of the war.
"Elena," Diana said, tossing a thick folder onto my bed. "Victoria’s criminal defense lawyer tried to contact us this morning. Now that the Sterling family money is gone, she’s realized she cannot afford a prolonged legal battle. They want to offer a settlement."
"What kind of settlement?" I asked coldly.
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"She will plead guilty to a reduced charge of Second-Degree Assault, which carries a mandatory minimum of only two years, in exchange for you signing over the entire four hundred eighty thousand dollar estate to her to cover her legal fees and the outstanding bridal venue cancellation penalties."
I looked at Diana, ensuring my voice carried the full weight of my executive authority. "Tell her defense attorney that I will see her in court. I want the maximum sentence. And tell Mr. Patterson to move forward with a civil lawsuit for punitive damages against her personal assets. I don't want a single penny of Dad's money touching her hands, and I want her to spend every single day of her sentence inside a concrete cell reflecting on the fifteen steps she threw me down."
