Chapter 9 - The Attorney's Mask Slips
Victoria recovered with terrifying speed, her posture snapping back into rigid corporate defiance. She crossed her arms over her velvet lapel, casting a withering glare at the veteran police officer.
"Officer, whatever minor domestic dispute has occurred in the parking structure is an internal staffing matter for Vance Enterprises," Victoria stated, her voice dripping with condescending authority. "I demand you take this trespasser into custody right now before my brother’s wedding is entirely ruined by sensationalist garbage."
Officer Ramirez didn't flinch. He adjusted his belt, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at the formidable attorney. "Ma'am, a man is lying in the basement with a fractured leg, and an assault with a deadly weapon is a felony offense, not a 'minor domestic dispute.' Furthermore, this young woman has accused you of orchestrating the attack via phone. I think we all need to walk downstairs together."
Maya watched Victoria closely, noting the subtle tic in the attorney’s left eyelid—a microscopic tell that revealed the vast distance between Victoria’s confident facade and her internal panic.
"You're making a catastrophic mistake, Officer," Victoria warned, her voice dropping to a dangerous, icy register. "Do you have any idea how many high-ranking city officials are currently sitting inside that ballroom? Do you know how quickly your badge will be stripped away if you publicly humiliate the Vance family over the word of an unverified vagrant?"
"If my badge depended on ignoring felonies to protect wealthy people, Ms. Vance, I would have thrown it away years ago," Ramirez replied calmly. He motioned toward the service ramp with a nod of his head. "After you."
Before Victoria could issue another threat, the heavy glass doors opened again, and Arthur Vance stepped out into the night air. Without his tuxedo jacket, his white shirt looking slightly rumpled around the collar, he looked remarkably old and defeated. His eyes immediately locked onto Maya, then drifted to Victoria’s tight, furious expression.
"Victoria, stop," Arthur said, his voice quiet, almost pleading. "The police are going to look down there anyway. Let it go."
Victoria spun around, her eyes flashing with disbelief. "Arthur? Have you lost your mind entirely? She's trying to destroy everything we've spent thirty years building!"
"She has Mother's addendum, Victoria," Arthur whispered, stepping closer to his sister so only she could hear, though Maya caught every word. "And Julian Reed is still sitting at table twelve with his recording device. If this becomes a public scandal involving police corruption and physical assaults in the basement, the board will vote us out by sunrise."
Victoria stared at her brother, the gravity of the situation finally crashing through her formidable defenses. She realized that the veneer of perfection they had maintained for decades had shattered the moment Maya walked through those ballroom doors.
Maya reached into her satchel once more, her fingers tracing the edge of the cream-colored envelope. She pulled it out just enough for Arthur to see the corner of the signature catching the red and blue light of the cruiser.
May you like
"You can hide behind your lawyers and your security guards all you want, Arthur," Maya said, her voice cutting through the humid night air like a razor. "But tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, I'm walking through the front doors of Vance Enterprises with the original document. And this time, nobody is going to stop me."
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