Chapter 14 - The Order Reversed
Ronald’s phone buzzed aggressively in his breast pocket. Then another chime sounded, followed by Eleanor’s phone ringing incessantly.
Ronald pulled out his phone, his smirk melting into absolute terror as he read the banner notification across his screen.
""What is it?"" Eleanor hissed, grabbing his sleeve. ""Ronald, what does it say?""
""The hearing,"" Ronald stammered, his face turning an ashen gray. ""It's... it's been vacated.""
""Vacated?"" Eleanor shrieked. ""Aunt Holloway promised—""
""Aunt Holloway was recused twenty minutes ago by the State Judicial Conduct Board,"" Marcus Reed interrupted with lethal calm. ""And an hour before that, the United States District Court for the Western District issued a federal injunction freezing every asset, account, and safe-deposit box associated with Vance Legal Group and its affiliates.""
The glass doors of the courthouse opened behind them. Two uniformed United States Marshals stepped onto the portico, accompanied by an agent wearing a dark windbreaker with yellow letters across the back: FBI.
""Eleanor Vance?"" the lead agent inquired, displaying his credentials.
Eleanor took a frantic step backward, her polished facade collapsing into hysteria. ""This is an administrative family dispute! My husband is harassing me!""
""Eleanor Vance and Ronald Vance,"" the agent announced loudly, unholstering a pair of restraints. ""You are under arrest pursuant to a federal warrant for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, identity theft, and interstate racketeering.""
Ronald dropped his briefcase on the stone steps, immediately raising his hands in surrender. ""I was just executing the estate filings! She provided the signatures!""
""Shut up, Ronald!"" Eleanor screamed, struggling as the marshals seized her arms and turned her toward the wall. Her pearls caught on the collar of her blazer and snapped, scattering white beads across the stone steps.
As they clamped the steel handcuffs around her wrists, Eleanor turned her wild, hateful glare onto Maya.
""You think you won?"" Eleanor spat, her makeup smudged with sudden sweat. ""You’re nothing! An ungrateful, artistic little failure who will ruin everything your mother built!""
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Maya didn't shrink. She stepped forward, looking down at the woman who had terrorized her home for four years, her expression calm, serene, and entirely untroubled.
""My mother built a foundation,"" Maya said softly. ""You just slipped on it.""
