Chapter 5 - The Legal Slaughter(Target: 2,000 words - Focus: The public backlash ruins the Vances completely; the police arrest Beatrice for assault; Ethan is reduced to a pariah.)
The backlash was immediate, violent, and absolute. The Vance family name became synonymous with the word "monster."
By the time Ethan walked out of the news studio, a crowd of furious protestors was waiting for him, throwing trash and shouting obscenities. His phone was flooded with death threats. The country club stripped them of their memberships via text message.
But the real hammer dropped two hours later.
I sat in the district attorney’s office, wrapped in a comfortable shawl, with Marcus and my legal team beside me. The District Attorney, a man who had received substantial campaign backing from Apex’s legal defense fund, looked at the dining room footage with pure disgust.
"This is aggravated assault on a pregnant woman, Madam Chairperson," the DA said, signing an arrest warrant. "Not to mention reckless endangerment of an unborn child. We are moving forward with maximum charges."
That afternoon, a convoy of police cruisers arrived at the cheap, dingy motel where the Vance family was hiding out. Flashing red and blue lights illuminated the cracked asphalt.
Beatrice Vance was dragged out of her motel room in handcuffs, wearing a faded tracksuit, her hair a wild mess. "Get your hands off me! Do you know who I am?!" she screamed at the cameras that were documenting her downfall.
"You're a criminal, lady," the arresting officer said bluntly, shoving her head down into the back of the cruiser.
Ethan and Chloe stood by the motel door, watching their mother get taken away. They looked hollow, completely broken. They had no money for bail, no money for a top-tier lawyer, and no friends left to call.
Ethan looked up and saw a black town car parked across the street. The window rolled down, revealing Marcus.
Marcus stepped out of the car, walked over to Ethan, and handed him a single folder. "Divorce papers, Mr. Vance. As well as a civil lawsuit for intentional infliction of emotional distress, seeking damages in the amount of twenty million dollars."
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Ethan laughed hysterically, a sound born of pure madness. "Twenty million? I don't even have twenty dollars! Aria knows that! She’s trying to destroy me!"
"No," Marcus said coldly, adjusting his cuffs. "The Chairperson doesn't care enough about you to destroy you. She’s simply cleaning her floors. And you, Mr. Vance... are the dirt."
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