Chapter 14 - The Ledger of Blood
Forty-eight hours later, the storm had passed over the East Coast, leaving the sky over Manhattan an immaculate, biting blue.
Inside the high-security federal detention center, Richard Vance sat behind reinforced glass, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit that swallowed his withered frame. Across from him sat Clara, dressed in an immaculate charcoal wool coat, her bruises beginning to fade beneath her pale skin.
Richard looked at her through the scratched glass, his hands cuffed to the steel table. ""I hear Marcus was arrested for attempted murder and grand larceny. His father would have been disgusted by him.""
""His father was murdered by you, Richard,"" Clara said, her voice flat, devoid of anger or warmth. ""The federal prosecutors found the offshore wire transfers you sent to the mechanic who cut Arthur Reed’s brake lines.""
Richard flinched, his paper-thin arrogance evaporating into the sterile prison air. ""I built an empire, Clara. I did what was necessary to survive.""
""You built a house of cards on the bodies of my mother and my real father,"" Clara replied. ""And today, the bankruptcy court finalized the liquidation. Vance Industries no longer exists. Its assets have been absorbed into a nonprofit foundation under Eleanor’s name.""
Richard closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping as if all the air had left his lungs. ""And Julianna? Did you leave her on the street like she deserves?""
Clara leaned closer to the glass. ""Julianna has fifty percent of my mother’s personal trust. She is going to university in London under her own name, far away from your poison.""
A guard tapped on the reinforced door, signaling that visiting time had expired. Clara stood up and adjusted her coat.
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""You will spend the rest of your life in an eight-by-ten concrete box, Richard,"" Clara said softly, picking up her leather gloves. ""And no one will ever remember your name.""
She turned and walked down the long corridor without looking back.
