Chapter 4 - The Deposition
Two weeks later, the formal court-ordered deposition took place at the law offices of Vance & Miller in downtown Savannah.
The conference room was cold, quiet, and blindingly bright. Glass walls offered a panoramic view of the river, but inside, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.
I sat on one side of the long mahogany table, flanked by Marcus and Daniel. Across from us sat Richard and his attorney, Victor Thorne.
Richard looked terrible. The tailored suits he usually wore were rumpled, his hair was unkempt, and dark circles shadowed his hollow eyes. His hands twitched nervously against his leather notepad. He hadn't seen me in person since the day he closed my front door on me and Emma.
Victor Thorne—a sleek man with sharp features and a million-dollar watch—cleared his throat and opened his folder.
"Let the record show," Thorne began, his voice smooth and practiced, "that we are convened for the emergency deposition regarding the custody, support, and property dispute between Richard Vance and Clara Vance."
Thorne looked at me, offering a thin, condescending smile. "Mrs. Vance, we are prepared to offer a reasonable resolution today. If you agree to drop the frivolous criminal fraud charges against my client, grant him fifty-percent joint physical custody of Emma, and award a lump-sum spousal settlement of two million dollars from the family trust, Mr. Vance will agree to sign a non-disclosure agreement and vacate all further real estate claims."
Marcus didn't even look up from his tablet. "Are you finished, Victor?"
Thorne frowned. "That is a very generous offer considering the emotional damage your client has inflicted on a devoted father."
"A devoted father?" Marcus looked up, his eyes flashing like polished steel. He pulled a thick, black binder from his briefcase and slid it across the table. "Let's review the actions of this 'devoted father.'"
Marcus opened the binder, pointing to exhibit A.
"Exhibit A: Certified hospital records showing Clara Vance giving birth at 2:14 PM on October 12th. Exhibit B: Telecommunication logs showing Richard Vance making a four-minute call to Clara at 5:20 PM stating, and I quote, 'Don't come home. My mom changed the locks.'"
Richard swallowed hard, staring at the paper.
"Exhibit C," Marcus continued, flipping the page with a sharp snap. "High-definition security video and audio captured outside Mrs. Vance's residence two days later, showing Mr. Vance standing behind his mother, Patricia Vance, while she explicitly told a recovering mother holding a three-day-old infant that she no longer had a home."
"That was taken out of context!" Richard blurted out, his voice cracking. "My mother was just trying to reduce stress! Clara was—"
"Silence, Richard!" Thorne snapped, glaring at his client.
"Oh, don't stop him, Victor," Marcus said coldly. "Let him speak. Because Exhibit D is the internal audit report delivered to us this morning by Vanguard Freight Systems."
Richard’s face went completely ghostly white. "What?"
"Over the last fourteen months," Marcus read aloud, "Richard Vance fraudulently channeled eighty-four thousand dollars of corporate travel funds into a private bank account registered under his mother Patricia’s name. An account that was created three weeks before Clara went into labor."
Thorne turned to look at Richard, his professional composure completely shattering. "Richard... what is he talking about?"
Richard couldn't speak. He stared at the documents, his chest heaving as if he were suffocating.
"We aren't here to negotiate your pathetic settlement, Victor," I said, speaking for the first time. My voice was low, clear, and unshakeable. "We are here to give you twenty-four hours to sign a full, unconditional surrender of all marital property claims, agree to sole legal and physical custody for me with supervised visitation only, and pay back every cent stolen from my trust and Vanguard Freight."
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"And if we refuse?" Thorne asked, his confidence completely drained.
Marcus smiled. "Then the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who received the corporate wire fraud audit at 8:00 AM today, will execute a federal arrest warrant before your client leaves this building."
