Chapter 6 - The Deposition of Lies
Z
Three weeks later.
The high-rise glass conference room of the Philadelphia Federal Courthouse overlooked the Delaware River. Rain stroked the thick glass panes, mirroring the dark, stormy atmosphere inside the room.
Across the long mahogany table sat Julian Vance, Eleanor Vance, and their high-priced defense attorney, Arthur Pendelton.
Julian looked unrecognizable. The sleek, arrogant man who had dismissed my 104-degree fever three weeks ago was gone. He wore a rumpled gray orange jumpsuit, his hair unwashed, dark circles bruised under his hollow eyes. Eleanor sat beside him, stripped of her makeup, her expensive jewelry replaced by standard-issue plastic identification wristbands.
I sat at the head of the table, flanked by Raymond Vance and the chief state prosecutor, Sarah Jenkins.
"We are on the record," Prosecutor Jenkins announced, pressing the record button on the digital tape machine in the center of the table. "This is the preliminary deposition in the matter of the Commonwealth vs. Julian Vance, Eleanor Vance, Victoria Vance, and Chloe Hayes."
Pendelton, the defense attorney, cleared his throat nervously, adjusting his papers. "My clients are prepared to offer a full conditional guilty plea in exchange for the dismissal of the felony kidnapping and attempted poisoning charges."
"Poisoning?" Eleanor burst out, unable to contain herself, her voice raspy and shrill. "It was an herbal tea! A natural remedy! I was trying to calm her hysterical nerves! She was out of her mind!"
"Silence your client, Mr. Pendelton," Prosecutor Jenkins warned coldly. "Or I will have her removed from the deposition immediately and add obstruction to her indictment."
Julian slowly raised his head, his eyes fixing on me with a pathetic, desperate look.
"Genevieve... please," Julian begged, his voice trembling. "Look at me. Look at what you're doing to us. My mother is sixty-five years old! She can't survive in a state facility! You know I loved you... I was manipulated by Chloe! She told me you were lying to me about your family's money!"
I folded my hands neatly on the table, leaning forward slightly.
"You put generic pills on my nightstand while I was burning with a 104-degree fever, Julian," I said, my voice steady and measured, completely devoid of warmth. "Your mother threw a bucket of ice water on my face and told me to cook for forty people. And while I was lying in a hospital bed, you brought a notary to press my thumb onto a deed transfer."
"I was desperate!" Julian cried out, slamming his cuffed hands onto the table. The metallic rattle echoed through the room. "The estate was going into foreclosure! We were going to lose everything!"
"You were going to lose what was never yours," I corrected him flatly. "You married me because you thought I was an easy target—a quiet girl with no family to defend her, running a small business you could slowly drain. You thought I was weak."
"Miss Sterling," Pendelton interrupted, trying to regain control. "My clients are willing to forfeit all claims to any disputed property, sign full non-disclosure agreements, and agree to a lifetime restraining order if you recommend leniency to the prosecutor."
Raymond Vance laughed softly—a short, dark sound.
"Leniency?" Raymond pulled a thick slab of documents from his briefcase, dropping it onto the table with a loud thud. "Mr. Pendelton, this is the forensic accounting report completed yesterday by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Your client, Julian Vance, systematically funneled over 2.4 million dollars out of Miss Sterling's interior design firm over a thirty-six-month period. He committed tax evasion, bank fraud, and wire fraud."
Pendelton stared at the stack of documents, his jaw tightening as he realized the mountain of evidence stacked against his clients.
"Furthermore," Prosecutor Jenkins added, "Miss Chloe Hayes signed her final plea agreement this morning. She has agreed to testify as the state's primary witness against both Julian and Eleanor Vance in exchange for a reduced sentence. She provided full text message logs detailing the exact dosages of the sedatives Eleanor administered to Miss Sterling."
Eleanor’s face turned gray. She slumped back into her chair, clutching her chest, gasping for air. "Chloe... that traitorous little viper..."
"You taught her well, Eleanor," I said coldly, standing up from my chair and buttoning my coat. "You built a house out of lies, manipulation, and cruelty. And now, you’re going to spend the next fifteen years watching it burn down from behind a steel door."
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"Genevieve, wait!" Julian screamed, scrambling out of his chair as the guards grabbed him. "Please! I'm sorry! I'll do anything! Give me another chance! Genevieve!"
I didn't turn back. I walked out of the conference room, the sound of Julian's frantic, pathetic screaming fading away down the long, cold marble hallway.
