Chapter 9 - The Breakdown
Two days later, Victoria sat in a cold, sterile holding room at the central precinct.
The room smelled of floor wax and stale coffee.
She sat at a metal table, her expensive makeup stripped away, leaving her skin looking pale, aged, and hollow.
The heavy door opened, and David Vance walked in, carrying a thick binder of legal filings.
"What is the bail amount?" Victoria asked instantly, her voice hoarse from crying. "My brother said he would post the bond this morning."
David sat down, avoiding her eyes. "Your brother withdrew his financial guarantee an hour ago, Victoria. The Sterling family accounts have frozen all your joint credit lines."
Victoria’s breath hitched in her throat. "What?"
"Furthermore," David continued softly, "the district attorney has formally upgraded the charges to felony child endangerment and assault, given the visual evidence and the weapon involved—your diamond ring."
Victoria dropped her head into her hands, letting out a raw, ragged sob that echoed off the cinderblock walls.
It was an emotionally raw breakdown.
For the first time in her life, the walls of wealth and power she had built around herself had completely collapsed. There were no servants to yell at, no board members to manipulate, no husband to hide behind.
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"I didn't mean to..." Victoria wept into her palms, her body shivering violently. "I just wanted the night to be perfect... I worked so hard for that gala..."
"You struck a child, Victoria," David said flatly, pulling a pen from his coat pocket. "And right now, the only choice you have left is how you plead."
