Chapter 5 - The First Legal Strike and Ryan’s Desperate GambleThe conference room on the tenth floor of downtown Seattle’s most prestigious law firm smelled of polished mahogany, expensive espresso, and impending doom.
Ryan sat at the far end of the long glass table, looking disheveled, hollow-eyed, and desperate. The expensive designer jacket he had worn to Aspen was wrinkled, his hair was unwashed, and his hands trembled as he clutched a styrofoam cup of lukewarm coffee.
Across the table sat Marcus Vance, looking cool, calm, and completely untouchable. Flanking Marcus were two associate attorneys, stacking thick folders of evidence—medical reports, text message transcripts, bank statements, and the full unedited home security footage.
"Mr. Vance," Marcus began, his voice smooth and devoid of any warmth. "Let’s not waste everyone's time. We are here for an emergency deposition regarding your pending divorce and custody proceedings."
"This is insane!" Ryan burst out, slamming his coffee cup down onto the glass with a loud clatter. "You can't just lock me out of my own bank accounts! You can't keep me away from my son! Clara is manipulating my mother, she's exaggerating a routine medical issue—"
"A routine medical issue?" Marcus cut him off sharply, opening a file and sliding a stack of photographs across the table.
Ryan looked down. The photos showed me lying unconscious on the nursery floor, surrounded by medical equipment, tubes running into my nose and arms, alongside high-resolution stills from the security camera showing him stepping right over my medical complaints and walking out the front door.
"This is the state your wife was in while you were drinking whiskey on a balcony in Aspen," Marcus stated coldly. "According to the attending physician's expert testimony, Mrs. Vance suffered acute septic shock and a postpartum stroke. Your refusal to seek medical attention constitutes felony reckless endangerment under state law."
Ryan swallowed hard, his throat tightening. "I... I didn't know it was that serious! She said she was tired! Every new mom complains about being tired!"
" Ignorance of a medical emergency does not absolve you of criminal abandonment, Mr. Vance," Marcus replied smoothly. "Furthermore, our financial forensics team has reviewed your corporate expense accounts. Not only did you use company funds to finance your unauthorized luxury birthday trip to Aspen, but you also charged the purchase of a fifty-thousand-dollar luxury watch to your corporate card while your wife was incapacitated."
Ryan’s face turned the color of ash. "How... how did you find that out?"
"Mr. Vance, we represent your mother," Marcus said with a slight, sardonic smile. "And Mrs. Elena Vance owns eighty-five percent voting shares of the corporate conglomerate where you serve as a mid-level marketing director."
Ryan froze. "My... my mom owns the company?"
"Past tense, Mr. Vance," Marcus corrected him smoothly, closing the folder with a sharp snap. "As of this morning, Elena Vance has formally voted to terminate your employment, strip you of your corporate title, and revoke your company-backed health insurance and housing allowance."
The room spun around Ryan. The ground beneath his feet felt like it was dissolving into thin air. Within seventy-two hours, he had lost his wife, his child, his inheritance, his job, his money, and his social standing.
"No," Ryan whispered, shaking his head in sheer denial. "No, Clara wouldn't do this. She loves me. She's just scared. I need to talk to her—I need to see her."
"If you come within five hundred feet of Clara Vance, her hospital room, or your son Ethan, the police won't even read you your rights before they throw you in a maximum-security holding cell," Marcus warned, standing up and buttoning his suit jacket. "Sign the temporary restraining order and the asset freeze agreement, Mr. Vance. It’s the only thing keeping you out of an orange jumpsuit tonight."
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With shaking, sweaty hands, Ryan picked up the pen. As he scratched his signature onto the bottom of the legal document, a dark, venomous hatred began to brew deep inside his chest.
If Clara and his mother wanted to destroy him... he would make sure they paid the ultimate price.
