Chapter 6: The Threat on Heavy Paper
On Thursday afternoon, the outside world intruded upon their sanctuary.
A sleek black town car drove down the gravel lane beneath the pecan trees. A process server accompanied by an attorney named Arthur Sterling—the chief legal counsel for the Vance family trust—stepped onto the front porch.
Nora stepped out to meet them, closing the wooden screen door behind her so Daisy remained safe inside with Martha.
""Ms. Nolan,"" Arthur Sterling said, presenting a thick, red-ribboned legal portfolio. ""We have prepared a comprehensive pre-litigation settlement.""
""I am not interested in your settlements, Arthur,"" Nora said coldly.
Sterling adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, adopting a tone of calculated, patronizing severity. ""You should be. If you release that surveillance video to the press or cooperate with the federal grand jury, the Vance family will file an $8 million tort claim for industrial espionage, trade secret theft, and intentional interference with contractual relations. We will drag your consulting firm through every appellate bench in South Carolina until you are bankrupt.""
Nora took the heavy portfolio from his hand. She did not open it.
She looked at Arthur Sterling with an expression of quiet, absolute pity.
May you like
""You spent thirty years protecting thieves in tuxedos, Arthur,"" Nora said, her voice resonant and steady. ""Let me tell you what is going to happen. In forty-eight hours, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will execute search warrants on Vance Capital’s offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands. And if you or Margaret Vance ever come down this lane again, I will have the Charleston County Sheriff arrest you for felony witness intimidation.""
Nora dropped the $8 million legal threat into the porch recycling bin, turned her back on the attorney, and walked inside.
