Chapter 3 - The Man with the Files: Enter Marcus VanceMarcus Vance was not just any lawyer. He was the senior partner at Vance & Sterling, a ruthless corporate and family law firm known for dismantling high-net-worth fraud cases. He was also my uncle.
For the past two years, while Nathan thought I was quietly licking my wounds in a cramped apartment, Marcus and I had been building a legal fortress.
"Evelyn," Marcus said in his deep, resonant courtroom voice, catching the elevator door before it closed. "You look like you just ran into a ghost."
"Worse," I murmured, turning around to face the lobby. "I ran into my ex-husband and his new trophy prize."
Marcus followed my gaze across the crowded hallway. Nathan was still standing by the reception desk, though his eyes were now locked on Marcus with sudden, instinctive dread. Businessmen with Nathan's specific brand of corporate insecurity knew who Marcus Vance was. Vance didn't handle messy divorces over kitchen appliances; he handled financial ruin, corporate embezzlement, and hidden asset recovery.
"Ah," Marcus smiled, adjusting his titanium-rimmed glasses. "Nathan Brooks. The man who thought he could siphon funds from his startup to fund his mistress's lifestyle while leaving you with manufactured debt."
"Is everything ready?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.
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"Every single document," Marcus replied, patting the two thick manila files under his arm. "File one contains his corporate fraud indictment, signed by federal prosecutors this morning. File two contains the paternity annulment and asset freeze. Shall we deliver them now, or let him squirm a little longer?"
"Let's go deliver them," I said. "He loves an audience, after all."
