Chapter 8 - The Price of TreasonWhile healing began in the quiet solitude of Quebec, the financial and legal empire of the Vance family was being systematically demolished in New York.
Thaddeus Aldridge worked with ruthless, surgical efficiency. Backed by federal prosecutors and the overwhelming evidence recovered from the iron box, every asset associated with Victoria Vance, her mother Evelyn, and Carter Sterling was seized under RICO racketeering statutes.
In a high-security holding facility in downtown Manhattan, Victoria sat in a sterile interrogation room, wearing an orange jumpsuit, her hair unwashed, her face stripped of all cosmetic deception.
Across the steel table sat Federal Prosecutor Robert Vance—no relation to Victoria, but a man famous for dismantling organized crime syndicates.
"Your mother has already taken a plea deal, Victoria," Prosecutor Vance said flatly, tossing a thick stack of signed legal documents onto the metal table. "She admitted to helping you forge Eleanor Sterling’s medical records six years ago to facilitate the kidnapping. She’s going to spend the next fifteen years in a federal prison."
Victoria’s hands trembled against the steel table, her eyes wild and bloodshot. "It was supposed to be mine! The Sterling estate... my father built half those shipping lines before Harrison’s family cheated him out of his shares! I was taking back what belonged to me!"
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"You tried to murder a child, Victoria," the prosecutor replied coldly, leaning forward. "And your co-conspirator, Carter Sterling, just signed a full confession implicating you in the hit-and-run setup at Blackwood Bay. You’re looking at life without the possibility of parole."
Victoria slumped back in her metal chair, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly. The grand house, the silk dresses, the diamond earrings, and the billionaire name she had stolen—all of it had evaporated, leaving her trapped in a cold concrete cell for the rest of her natural life.
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