fiction
Evelina placed a silver serving tray into three-year-old Orla’s hands and mockingly announced that the little girl was being auctioned off as a servant to repay a porcelain vase she supposedly broke. / Chapter 8 / 10

Chapter 8 - THE SHADOW OF THE VANCE FAMILY

Three days later.

The news of the Sterling-Vance scandal had exploded across global financial and tabloid headlines. “FIANCÉE OF BILLIONAIRE BENEDICT STERLING ARRESTED AT CHARITY GALA,” read the front page of the New York Times. “EVELINA VANCE CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER AND CHILD ABUSE.”

Inside the high-security visitors' room at the Manhattan Federal Detention Center, Benedict sat behind a thick glass partition. He wore a sharp grey suit, looking completely unfazed by the media circus outside.

On the other side of the glass sat Richard Vance—Evelina’s father. The once-proud patriarch was now wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hair messy, his hands handcuffed to the metal table.

"You think you’ve won, don't you, Sterling?" Richard spat, his voice raspy through the internal phone intercom. "You think putting my daughter and me in prison solves your problems?"

"Your daughter is facing twenty-five years to life for tampering with Victoria’s vehicle," Benedict replied calmly into the phone. "And you are facing federal fraud, tax evasion, and embezzlement charges that will ensure you die in a federal penitentiary. It’s over, Richard."

Richard sneered, leaning closer to the glass. "You don't know half of it, Benedict. You think Evelina acted alone? You think I acted alone?"

Benedict’s eyes narrowed slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"Victoria wasn't just investigating our family laundering," Richard whispered, a dark, sinister smile creeping onto his face. "She found out about the Board. The senior members of the Sterling Enterprise Board of Directors who helped us move those funds four years ago! Who do you think paid off the Swiss clinic to falsify Orla’s birth certificates? Who do you think ordered the original Qing Dynasty vase to be sealed and hidden in the estate vault?"

Benedict kept his expression stoic, though his mind was cataloging every word. "Name them."

"Why should I?" Richard laughed bitterly. "You destroyed my family. You humiliated my daughter. Now, let the vipers inside your own boardroom tear you and your precious little bastard daughter apart! The moment they realize Orla isn't Victoria’s legitimate biological child under the Sterling Family Trust Charter, they will execute Clause 9. They will strip you of your CEO position and seize control of the entire trust!"

"Clause 9 only applies if the heir is proven illegitimate in a court of probate," Benedict said smoothly.

"And do you think we didn't leave copies of those Swiss DNA records with our attorney?" Richard smirked. "The moment our trial begins, those records will become public evidence. The board will move against you before the week is out."

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Benedict slowly hung up the phone. He stood up, adjusted his cuffs, and looked down at the old man behind the glass with cold pity.

"Thank you for the warning, Richard," Benedict said softly through the glass. "You just gave me three days to destroy them first."

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