Chapter 5 - The Queen Mother’s CounterattackWhile Elena and Maya were preparing their legal counter-offensive, Rebecca Vance was sitting in the mahogany-paneled library of her sprawling Beacon Hill mansion, nursing a scotch and executing her own scorched-earth strategy.
Standing before her was Marcus Sterling, the senior partner at Sterling & Vance Law Firm and David’s ruthless lead defense attorney.
“I want that dirty little tramp and her interfering mother destroyed, Marcus,” Rebecca commanded, her voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register. “I want Maya sued for breach of contract, defamation, and corporate espionage. I want her bank accounts frozen by noon today. And as for the police report? I want it buried under a mountain of affidavits claiming Maya suffers from severe mental instability and hallucinates violent episodes.”
Marcus adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, nodding smoothly. “Consider it handled, Mrs. Vance. The firm’s PR team has already planted stories with three local tabloids framing Maya as a volatile, unstable woman who staged an intentional public stunt to ruin David’s career during a messy, vindictive divorce.”
Rebecca smirked, taking a slow sip of her drink. “Good. People like Elena and her daughter think they can challenge the Vance name. They need to be taught what happens when ants try to bite an elephant.”
Just then, the heavy oak doors of the library banged open.
A terrified junior associate from the firm stumbled into the room, holding a stack of freshly printed legal notifications. His face was stark white, and his hands trembled so violently he could barely hold the papers.
“Mr. Sterling... Mrs. Vance... you need to see this immediately,” the associate gasped, struggling to catch his breath.
“Explain yourself, boy! Don’t barge in here like a common peasant,” Rebecca snapped, slamming her crystal glass onto the table.
“It’s... it’s not just the local police report anymore,” the associate stammered, dropping the papers onto the mahogany desk. “Federal investigators from the SEC and the FBI’s White-Collar Crime Division just served a search warrant at the downtown offices. They’re seizing all corporate servers, auditing every real estate partnership, and... and they’ve issued an immediate asset freeze on all accounts tied to the Vance family trust—including David’s personal holdings and the firm’s operating reserves.”
Rebecca’s face drained of all color. The glass slipped from her fingers, shattering against the Persian rug, splashing dark amber scotch across the floor like blood.
“An asset freeze?” Rebecca whispered, her voice cracking with sudden, unadulterated panic. “On our trust? By whose authority?!”
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The associate swallowed hard, looking straight into Rebecca’s horrified eyes.
“By order of the Federal District Court,” he replied. “Triggered by a comprehensive, pre-packaged forensic fraud audit submitted this morning by a retired federal compliance expert... Elena Brooks.”
