Chapter 29
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Marcus didn't miss a beat. He reached into his leather briefcase and pulled out a thick stack of printed documents, sliding them deliberately across the polished table toward Victoria and her stunned legal team.
"A generous loan from a friend," Marcus noted dryly. "Does this friend happen to be Arthur Sterling, the CEO of Vanguard Holdings?"
Caldwell instantly slammed his hand on the table. "Objection! This line of questioning is entirely irrelevant to a family court custody dispute. My client's personal friendships have no bearing on her fitness as a mother."
"It is highly relevant, Mr. Caldwell," Marcus countered smoothly, his voice raising with absolute authority. "Especially since those documents are highly detailed corporate employment records we legally obtained through a secondary discovery motion yesterday. Records that list your client, Victoria Vance, as the newly appointed Vice President of Acquisitions for Vanguard Holdings, receiving a base salary of two million dollars a year."
The color completely drained from Victoria's flawless face. Her arrogant smirk vanished instantly, replaced by a look of sheer, undeniable panic. She stared at the documents as if they were venomous snakes.
"Is this true, Mrs. Vance?" Marcus demanded, leaning aggressively across the table. "Are you an executive officer for Vanguard Holdings?"
Victoria opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Caldwell snatched the documents, his eyes scanning the pages frantically. His confident demeanor completely evaporated as he realized the magnitude of the legal disaster his client had just plunged him into.
"Furthermore," Marcus continued relentlessly, not allowing them a second to recover. "We have the routing numbers proving that Vanguard Holdings paid your firm's half-million dollar legal retainer directly from their corporate accounts. Arthur Sterling is illegally financing this custody battle to extort my client into surrendering his company."
"This deposition is over!" Caldwell shouted, jumping to his feet and frantically packing his briefcase. "My client will not answer another question without a federal criminal defense attorney present."
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Julian finally looked up from his legal pad, his eyes locking onto Victoria's terrified gaze. He didn't look defeated anymore. He looked like a sovereign king who had just crushed a rebellion.
"You lied under oath, Victoria," Julian said softly, his voice carrying the lethal weight of absolute victory. "It's over."
