Chapter 36 - The Deposition
With his lead counsel facing federal charges and his financial accounts completely frozen, Victor Vance was backed into a corner he couldn't buy his way out of. The judge presiding over Eleanor’s emergency divorce hearing ordered an immediate, expedited deposition to address the shadow ledger and the illegal surveillance.
The deposition took place in the grand conference room of Arthur's law firm. The atmosphere was incredibly tense, the air thick with the impending destruction of a titan.
Victor Vance walked in, looking furious and severely sleep-deprived. He was accustomed to dictating reality, and sitting in a room where he had absolutely zero control was clearly driving him mad. He was flanked by a junior attorney who looked terrified to be there.
I sat directly across the table from Victor, flanked by Eleanor and Arthur. Eleanor was pale, but she held her head high, drawing strength from the undeniable proof we had secured.
Arthur opened the deposition with a lethal calmness. He placed a thick stack of printed financial documents in the center of the table.
"Mr. Vance," Arthur began, his voice smooth and deadly. "Are you the sole managing director of Vance Vanguard, a shell corporation registered in the Cayman Islands?"
Victor glared at Arthur, his jaw tight. "I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it involves confidential corporate strategies."
"This is not a board meeting, Victor," Arthur snapped, leaning forward. "This is a sworn deposition under penalty of perjury. We have the digital mirror of the server you kept at your Hamptons estate. We know that Vance Vanguard holds forty million dollars directly stolen from your wife's pre-marital trust fund."
Victor’s eyes darted to me, burning with hatred. "You stole that data. It is inadmissible fruit of a poisonous tree."
"Actually," I interjected, offering a cold, polite smile. "The data was accessed by a user with authorized biometric clearance—your wife. She simply copied her own financial records from a shared marital server. It is perfectly legal, and entirely devastating to your defense."
Victor slammed his fist on the table. "She is my wife! What is mine is hers, and what is hers is mine!"
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"Not when you hide it in a private Swiss account and use it to hire mercenaries to track her every movement," Arthur countered, dropping the Apex Solutions contract onto the table. "You aren't a husband, Mr. Vance. You are a warden. And today, your prison closes permanently."
Victor looked at the documents, realizing the absolute, undeniable finality of his ruin. He slumped back in his chair, completely defeated.
