Chapter 5 - Back at the Luxury Estate
While Audrey and I were mapping out our legal strategy at the hospital, absolute panic had gripped the sprawling, gated estate in the exclusive Oakridge hills—the very house Julian and Sienna now called home.
The iron security gates swung open not for a returning master of the house, but for two unmarked federal vehicles and a county sheriff cruiser.
Inside the cavernous, minimalist-designed living room, Sienna paced frantically across the imported Italian marble floor, still clutching the whimpering baby in her arms. Her designer makeup was ruined, her hair disheveled, and her breath came in ragged, hyperventilating gasps.
“He’s not answering his phone!” Sienna sobbed into the receiver of her gold-plated smartphone, pressing it against her ear for the hundredth time. “Every time I call Julian’s cell, it goes straight to voicemail! The police took him downtown, and my lawyer won’t even pick up my calls!”
“Calm down, Miss Miller—or whatever your legal name is right now,” a sharp, weary voice snapped from the doorway.
It was Julian’s personal corporate attorney, Marcus Vance—no relation to Audrey, but a man equally ruthless in protecting corporate interests. Marcus stood with his briefcase in hand, having rushed over the moment he received word from the precinct. His expression was grim, devoid of the polite deference he usually reserved for his wealthy clients.
“Calm down?” Sienna shrieked, whirling around to face the lawyer. “My fiancé is sitting in a holding cell, federal agents are preparing to raid our accounts, and you’re telling me to calm down? Do something! You’re supposed to fix this!”
“I fix legal disputes, Sienna. I don’t perform miracles on sinking ships,” Marcus retorted coldly, dropping his briefcase onto the glass coffee table and flipping it open. He pulled out a thick stack of printed financial statements and bank notifications. “Do you have any idea what happened twenty minutes after Julian was booked?”
Sienna stopped pacing, her breath catching in her throat. “What?”
“The federal prosecutor’s office obtained an emergency asset-freezing order,” Marcus said, his voice dropping into a flat, dangerous register. “Every single operating account, personal savings portfolio, investment trust, and corporate credit line tied to Julian Vance—and to the Sterling-Vance Foundation—has been locked down. The government alleges wire fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, and systematic embezzlement of charitable endowments.”
Sienna’s knees wobbled, and she collapsed heavily onto the plush velvet sofa, nearly dropping the baby. “Embezzlement? That’s... that’s not true! We just redirected some discretionary funds for personal investments! Julian said it was standard corporate restructuring—”
“Julian lied to you,” Marcus interrupted ruthlessly. “Or worse, he was too arrogant to realize that when you forge medical records to execute a fraudulent divorce, you leave a digital trail straight to a federal penitentiary. Furthermore,” Marcus added, adjusting his glasses as he looked down at a fresh document, “according to the preliminary probate filings submitted by Clara Vance Sterling’s legal team this morning, she is contesting the original divorce settlement on grounds of systemic fraud.”
Sienna’s face turned the color of ash. “Contesting... contesting it? But she signed the papers! She walked away with nothing!”
“She signed papers based on false medical pretense,” Marcus said, snapping his briefcase shut with a sharp crack. “Under state law, fraud vitiates everything. If Clara proves that the medical incapacity cited in the original settlement was a fabricated lie engineered by Julian—with your direct administrative assistance—every single asset transferred during that divorce reverts back to her ownership.”
The realization hit Sienna like a physical blow to the chest.
The house, the luxury cars, the designer clothes, the high-society status she had spent years scheming to steal from her best friend—it was all evaporating into thin air. She hadn't just won a prize; she had inherited a ticking time bomb.
“What about me?” Sienna whispered, tears spilling over her lashes as she looked frantically at the lawyer. “I have a child! We’re engaged to be married! I didn't sign the corporate documents—Julian did everything in his name!”
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Marcus gave her a look of utter, profound pity mixed with disgust. “Sienna, the hospital access logs show your secure employee credentials were used to hack the clinic database. The state attorney general’s office has already issued a warrant for your arrest as an accessory to conspiracy and fraud. My advice to you? Pack a bag for the baby, find a competent criminal defense attorney, and start praying that Clara Vance is feeling remarkably merciful today.”
With those final, devastating words, Marcus turned on his heel, walked out the front door, and left Sienna alone in the echoing, silent mansion as the storm clouds of justice finally began to gather overhead.
