Chapter 17 - Echoes in the Cell
Z
Two weeks after the historic signing of the joint venture contract with Mateo Rossi, the scorching Miami sun beat down on the heavy concrete walls of the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami.
Inside the stark, windowless visitor room, Victoria Dudley sat behind a thick pane of bulletproof glass. Her luxurious blonde hair was gone, replaced by a messy, unwashed bun. She wore a bright orange prison jumpsuit, her wrists chained to her waist, her heavy gold jewelry replaced by plastic identification bands.
Across the glass sat Lewis Dudley. He looked completely shattered, dark circles under his hollow eyes, his hands trembling continuously as he held the black telephone receiver.
"Mom," Lewis wept quietly into the receiver. "The public defender said my plea deal was rejected by the state prosecutor. They're charging me as a primary co-conspirator in felony battery and attempted extortion. I'm facing fifteen years!"
Victoria’s eyes were bloodshot, filled with a terrifying, bitter delusion. "Quiet, Lewis! Stop crying like a pathetic child! Eleanor Belmont’s lawyers will fix this! They have appeals! They have high-level connections!"
"Eleanor Belmont pled guilty yesterday morning, Mom!" Lewis shrieked softly into the phone, tears streaming down his face. "She turned state's evidence to avoid a life sentence! Her entire estate was seized by the federal government! The Belmont Circle is dead!"
Victoria slammed her handcuffed fist against the glass, her face contorting into a hideous mask of rage. "It’s that little bitch Chloe! It’s her fault! If she had just signed the papers like she was told, we would be living in luxury right now!"
Suddenly, the heavy metal door at the back of the visitor room opened.
A guard stepped aside, and I walked inside. I wore an elegant cream suit, holding a simple leather handbag, walking with slow, grace and undeniable authority.
Victoria’s jaw dropped in absolute shock. Her eyes burned with pure hatred as she grabbed her telephone receiver tightly. "You... what are you doing here, Sarah?!"
I sat down calmly on the stool across from her, picking up the black phone receiver. I looked at Victoria, then at her weeping son Lewis, feeling no anger, no fear—only a profound, cold disgust for the pathetic predators they truly were.
"I came to deliver a message from Chloe, Victoria," I said, my voice smooth and crystal clear through the receiver.
Victoria sneered through the glass. "Tell your pathetic daughter I will haunt her for the rest of her life! When I get out of here—"
"You're never getting out of here, Victoria," I interrupted coldly. "Yesterday afternoon, the grand jury returned a twenty-two-count indictment against you, including conspiracy to commit murder for the death threats you made against my child."
Victoria’s breath caught in her throat. Her face turned ghost-white. "Murder?! I didn't try to kill her!"
"You told her you would kill her if she told anyone," I reminded her, my eyes narrowing into slits. "And under Florida law, uttering actionable fatal threats during the commission of a felony battery carries a mandatory minimum thirty-year sentence without parole."
Lewis let out a loud, pathetic sob, dropping his head onto the steel counter.
"As for Chloe," I continued, a cold, triumphant smile touching my lips. "She is currently standing on the top floor of her penthouse, watching the demolition crews clear the land for The Sarah Vance Center. She is officially the owner of a forty-five-million-dollar commercial empire."
Victoria gripped the receiver so hard her knuckles turned white. "You stole everything from us..."
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"No, Victoria," I said softly, leaning closer to the glass, looking her dead in her terrified, miserable eyes. "You tried to break my daughter to steal her property. Instead, you awakened the father who protected her, the mother who fought for her, and the woman who ultimately destroyed you. Enjoy your cell."
I hung up the phone receiver, stood up smoothly, and walked out of the visitor room, leaving Victoria Dudley screaming hysterically against the bulletproof glass as the guards dragged her back toward the darkness of the prison block.
