Chapter 7 - The Reckoning
Victoria stepped back, her eyes wide with sheer, unadulterated terror. "Richard... please... it’s not what it looks like! Julian forced me! He threatened me!"
"Save it for the grand jury, Victoria," Richard said.
The heavy oak doors of the nursery flew open. Four uniformed federal agents, flanked by Marcus Thorne and local police officers, marched into the room.
Agent Miller stepped forward, pulling out a pair of steel handcuffs. "Victoria Vance, you are under arrest for federal conspiracy, wire fraud, attempted child endangerment, and attempted murder."
"Get your hands off me!" Victoria shrieked, dropping all pretense of elegance as she thrashed against the officer’s grip. Her dark hair fell out of its pristine bun, hanging wildly around her face. "You can't do this to me! I am a Vance! My father will destroy you, Richard! Do you hear me? You're nothing without me! You’re just a pathetic, grieving fool!"
Richard didn't answer. He didn't yell, he didn't mock her, and he didn't show a single sliver of anger. He looked at her with pure, unadulterated indifference—as if she were nothing more than a stain being wiped clean from his home.
Downstairs in the grand foyer, Julian Vance was already pressed against the white Italian marble floor, handcuffed and surrounded by armed agents as his briefcases were seized.
As the police led a screaming, hysterical Victoria down the grand staircase, the brilliant crystal chandelier reflected her ruined, tear-stained face in the marble floor—the exact spot where she had once walked in wine-red velvet, thinking she owned the world.
Richard walked over to the rug, picked up the small ultrasonic device, and handed it to Agent Miller as evidence.
Then, he knelt on the floor beside his daughter.
May you like
Maya looked up from her wooden blocks. She reached out her tiny hands, touched her father’s face, and pulled out her soft earplugs.
For the first time in four agonizing months, the little girl let out a bright, melodic, ringing laugh that echoed through the quiet corridors of the estate.
