Chapter 7 - Echoes in the HallwayTwo weeks had passed since the afternoon at the airport and the dramatic confrontation in the living room. The house had undergone a profound transformation. Gone were the water stains, the peeling wallpaper, and the oppressive gloom that had settled into the corners during Eleanor’s final illness.
With the first installment of the trust funds and my own surging freelance design earnings, I had hired a team of local contractors to renovate the entire structure from top to bottom. Fresh white paint brightened the hallways, gleaming hardwood floors replaced the warped boards, and warm sunlight poured unobstructed through new, double-paned windows.
The memorial altar in the dining room had been respectfully relocated to a sunlit corner of the study, surrounded by blooming white orchids and Eleanor’s favorite books. Every morning, I poured a fresh cup of coffee and placed it beside her portrait, not out of grief, but in quiet gratitude for the unbreakable strength she had passed on to me before she left.
My phone rang, breaking the peaceful afternoon silence. I looked at the screen; it was an unfamiliar Manhattan area code.
“Hello?” I answered smoothly.
“Is this Elena Vance?” a crisp, professional voice asked.
“This is Elena,” I replied.
“Mrs. Vance, this is Marcus Sterling from Sterling & Associates Corporate Law in Manhattan. I’m calling on behalf of Julian Vance’s former employer in Toronto—Apex Global Logistics.”
I paused, leaning back in my ergonomic desk chair. “Apex Global Logistics? I’m afraid Mr. Vance and I are legally divorced. His financial and professional matters are no longer my concern.”
“I understand completely, Mrs. Vance,” the attorney replied smoothly. “However, our firm has been retained to conduct a comprehensive forensic audit regarding corporate embezzlement and asset falsification during Mr. Vance’s tenure in Toronto. In the course of our investigation, your name surfaced repeatedly in connection with joint accounts, fraudulent tax filings, and unauthorized corporate fund transfers executed by Mr. Vance.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? You’ll find that my name was legally disassociated from his accounts months ago, and I have documentation proving I received zero financial support from him during his entire tenure in Canada.”
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“We are well aware of your cooperation with the district attorney’s office,” Mr. Sterling said calmly. “In fact, that is precisely why I am calling. Mr. Vance attempted to shift the entirety of his corporate embezzlement liability onto your shoulders, claiming that you managed his personal offshore accounts while he was abroad.”
A cold, sharp smile touched my lips. “Did he now? How predictable of him.”
