Chapter 7 - The Poisoned PenBy Wednesday morning, Elena was back at work at the St. Jude Community Health Center in central Seattle.
Despite owning one of the largest corporate empires in the Pacific Northwest, she felt most at peace inside the modest clinic, listening to patients and organizing medical supply distributions for low-income families.
Her quiet morning was shattered when Thomas Wright walked into her small office, clutching a legal folder and looking visibly shaken.
"Miss Vance," Thomas said, closing the door firmly behind him. "Richard and Victoria have launched a smear campaign through several tabloid outlets and financial blogs."
He placed a printed article onto her desk. The headline read: Reclusive Heiress Exhibits Erratic Behavior; Vance Global Investors Question Mental Stability of Empire's Secret Owner.
Elena scanned the article with a cool, calm expression. The piece claimed that Elena suffered from severe post-traumatic psychological shock following her parents' death, citing her decision to wear "service uniforms" and live a modest life as proof of financial and mental incompetence. Attached to the article was a petition filed in probate court by Richard Vance, seeking temporary emergency guardianship over the Vance Family Trust.
"They are trying to use my choice of living simply against me," Elena said softly, setting the paper down.
"It gets worse," Thomas added, his voice dropping into a whisper. "Richard’s legal team filed an ex-parte motion requesting an immediate psychiatric evaluation by a court-appointed doctor. They’ve bribed Dr. Julian Vance—a distant cousin who runs a private psychiatric hospital—to sign off on an initial assessment."
Elena sat back, her dark eyes flashing with a sharp, dangerous intelligence.
"Richard isn't just trying to save his reputation, Thomas," Elena noted calmly. "He's terrified. He knows I've requested a full forensic audit of the estate accounts."
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"Precisely," Thomas nodded. "The forensic accounting team I hired found the first red flag two hours ago. Forty million dollars missing from the master escrow account."
Elena placed her hands flat on her desk. "Then we don't play defense anymore, Thomas. Call a full press conference at Vance Global Headquarters for tomorrow morning."
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