Chapter 44 - The Deposition Of An Illusion
The deposition room in downtown St. Louis was cramped, smelling of stale instant coffee, overheated radiator steam, and cheap synthetic carpet.
Preston sat at the far end of the laminate table, dressed in a faded, oversized beige suit that hung off his gaunt frame like an old bedsheet. His hair was heavily receded, his eyes bloodshot and surrounded by dark, bruised circles of chronic exhaustion. He looked forty-five, though he was barely thirty-three. Beside him sat Arthur Sneed—a rotund, sweating attorney with a stained silk tie and an aggressive, pompous smirk.
The court reporter sat at the head of the table, her fingers poised over her stenotype machine.
When Marcus Vance and I walked into the room, followed by a paralegal wheeling two heavy, steel-banded archive crates, Preston visibly flinched. He looked at me, his eyes widening in sudden, instinctual fear. I wore a tailored dark navy suit, moving with the quiet, effortless grace of an athlete whose spine was fully healed, carrying myself with the immovable authority of a man who commanded hundreds of civil contracts.
""Let the record reflect that we are here in the matter of Vance versus Vance,"" Sneed began, leaning forward aggressively. ""Mr. Harrison Vance, we are prepared to demonstrate that for over a decade, you systematically misappropriated family assets to fund your corporate ventures while leaving your client—""
""Mr. Sneed,"" Marcus interrupted, his voice dropping into the icy register that made opposing counsel’s blood run cold. ""Before you dig a hole your malpractice insurance cannot crawl out of, you are going to sit back, shut your mouth, and listen to the evidentiary record.""
Marcus snapped his fingers. The paralegal unlatched the first steel crate, pulling out three massive, color-coded binders and placing them directly in front of Sneed.
""Exhibit A,"" Marcus said, turning pages with lethal precision. ""The complete, certified forensic accounting of Richard and Brenda Vance from 1995 through their respective deaths, compiled not by my firm, but by the State Department of Human Services Conservatorship Division. As these records demonstrate, Richard and Brenda entered the state system with a net worth of negative eighty-two thousand dollars, owing over two hundred thousand dollars in unpaid medical liens, secondary mortgage defaults, and municipal tax judgments.""
Sneed’s smirk began to waver. He glanced nervously at Preston, who was chewing his fingernails down to the quick.
""Exhibit B,"" Marcus continued, dropping a second binder that hit the table like a gunshot. ""The public records of Preston Vance’s federal wire fraud conviction, proving that the liquidation of his parents' home was triggered entirely by his fraudulent clothing venture and his misuse of their second mortgage equity line.""
Preston’s breath caught in his throat. ""That was... that was an investment—""
""Quiet, Preston,"" Marcus ordered without even looking at him. ""And finally, Exhibit C. This is the document you really need to review, Mr. Sneed.""
Marcus slid a single, notarized administrative ledger across the table.
""For the past forty-two months,"" Marcus stated cleanly, ""Preston Vance’s rent in southern Illinois has been paid through an anonymous charitable voucher program administered by the Gable Sanctuary Foundation. That foundation is funded exclusively by Harrison Vance. Harrison has been keeping a roof over Preston’s head out of pure, clinical containment to ensure he did not become a homeless vagrant on our firm's doorstep.""
Sneed blinked, looking between the ledger, the state audit, and Preston. The color slowly drained from the attorney’s round face.
""However,"" Marcus said, leaning across the table until he was inches from Sneed’s nose, ""under paragraph four of the Global Non-Molestation and Restrictive Territorial Agreement signed by your client four years ago, any frivolous legal petition, administrative inquiry, or indirect tortious claim filed against Harrison Vance constitutes an immediate, material breach. That breach carries two automatic remedies: first, the immediate and permanent termination of the housing voucher program today; and second, the immediate transmission of this entire deposition file to the State Board of Bar Overseers, accompanied by a motion for sixty thousand dollars in attorney’s fees assessed personally against you, Mr. Sneed, for filing a frivolous, malicious suit.""
Sneed shoved his chair back, his face turning an alarmed, sickly gray. He looked at Preston with pure venom. ""You told me there was a two-million-dollar family trust! You told me he stole your parents' land!""
""I... I thought... Mom said—"" Preston stammered, his voice rising into a terrified, cracking whine.
""We are withdrawing the petition immediately,"" Sneed shouted, throwing his pen onto the table and turning to the court reporter. ""Off the record! The petition is withdrawn with prejudice! Today!""
I stood up from my chair. I didn't raise my voice. I walked around the table and stopped directly behind Preston’s chair, leaning down until my voice was a quiet, razor-sharp whisper near his ear.
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""You had a safety net, Preston,"" I said, my words carrying the weight of ten tons of solid granite. ""You didn't earn it, but I gave it to you so you wouldn't freeze. And today, your greed just took a pair of shears and cut the cables. When your rent is due on the first of next month, don't call Mom. Don't call Dad. And if you ever speak my name again, Marcus will have you back in a state cell before sunset.""
I turned on my heel and walked out of the room. Behind me, the sound of Preston weeping in absolute, helpless terror echoed off the cheap walls, completely powerless to stop the world he had destroyed from turning.
