Chapter 6 : The Inside Job
The arrest of Marcus Vance was the key that unlocked the final door to my mother and sister’s destruction.
With Marcus in custody, facing a multitude of felonies including attempted home invasion and stalking, he flipped on them in less than twelve hours. He surrendered his phone, which contained hundreds of encrypted messages from an unregistered number.
Captain Ruiz brought the transcripts to our house. Sophia, looking stronger now that the immediate threat was behind bars, sat beside me at the dining table, reading the messages.
The depravity in those texts was suffocating. Eleanor had ordered Marcus to cut our brake lines. Audrey had begged him to kidnap Leo and drop him off at a state orphanage with no identification. They had sold out their own blood for vengeance.
"How did they get a phone?" Sophia asked, her voice trembling with disgust.
"A corrupt guard," Ruiz explained. "Officer Jenkins. He was smuggling contraband into the facility. Audrey apparently seduced him into helping them. We’ve already moved to arrest him."
"Is it enough?" I asked, looking at Naomi. "Is it enough to put them away forever?"
Naomi smiled—a sharp, predatory smile that made me glad she was on our side. "It’s more than enough, Lucas. Not only are they facing federal charges for conspiracy to commit murder and witness intimidation, but they’ve completely forfeited any remaining legal rights they ever thought they had. But I don't want to just convict them. I want to break their spirit. I want them to know they lost."
"What’s the plan?" I asked.
May you like
"Tomorrow is their preliminary hearing for the civil suit they filed against the trust," Naomi said. "Because it's a civil matter, they requested to be transported to the courthouse to testify about how 'abusive' you were to them. They don't know Marcus has been arrested. They don't know we have the burner phone logs. We are going to let them walk into that courtroom believing they are about to win."
I looked at Sophia. She squeezed my hand, her eyes fiercely determined. "I want to be there," she said. "I want to watch their faces when their world collapses."
