Chapter 30 - The Federal Penitentiary
The drive to the federal penitentiary took four agonizing hours. The stark, brutalist architecture of the prison was a jarring, horrific contrast to the lush, historic beauty of the Carter House. High chain-link fences topped with razor wire loomed ominously against the pale Georgia sky.
Vanessa and I sat in silence as we passed through three separate, highly invasive security checkpoints. The heavy steel doors clanged shut behind us with a loud, depressing finality, echoing the absolute loss of freedom within these walls.
We were escorted into a drab, fluorescent-lit visitor’s room. A thick, smudged plexiglass partition divided the long metal table in the center of the room. We sat in the cheap plastic chairs, the silence stretching uncomfortably as we waited for the guards to bring him in.
Finally, the steel door on the opposite side of the glass buzzed open.
Richard Vale walked into the room.
He was practically unrecognizable. The meticulously tailored suits, the expensive silver haircuts, and the radiant, arrogant charm that had once defined his public persona were completely gone. He wore a baggy, faded gray institutional jumpsuit. He looked drastically thinner, hollowed out by the harsh reality of prison life. His posture was slightly hunched, his skin pale and deeply lined.
He sat down on the metal stool across from us, picking up the heavy black telephone receiver mounted to the wall.
I picked up my receiver. Vanessa simply stared at him, her eyes burning with an intense, unyielding defiance.
Richard looked at us through the scratched plexiglass. A weak, bitter smirk touched the corners of his lips.
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"Well, well," Richard’s voice crackled through the cheap phone speaker, sounding raspy and unused. "The triumphant daughters come to gloat at the defeated king. To what do I owe the absolute displeasure of this visit? Have you finally come to apologize for ruining my life?"
"We didn't ruin your life, Richard," I replied coldly, completely unaffected by his pathetic attempt at manipulation. "Your own greed did that. We are here because Julian Vance is currently dismantling the very last remaining pieces of your empire."
