Chapter 7 - The Price of Pride
The deposition took place in a sterile, fluorescent-lit conference room downtown.
Margaret sat on one side of the long mahogany table, flanked by a team of high-priced defense attorneys who looked increasingly uncomfortable. On our side sat Andrew, Aunt Denise—who was acting as our co-counsel—and the assistant state attorney.
Margaret looked significantly aged. Her hair, usually coiffed to perfection, was slightly limp, and the sharp, arrogant edge of her jawline seemed to have sagged under the weight of the impending scandal.
"We are prepared to offer a full plea agreement," Margaret’s lead attorney announced, opening a blue folder of his own. "My client will plead guilty to a single misdemeanor count of fiduciary negligence. She will fully replenish the trust—which, as we know, has already been done by Mr. William Vance—and pay a civil penalty of $50,000. In exchange, all felony charges will be dropped, and there will be no prison time."
The assistant state attorney looked at Andrew. Andrew leaned forward.
"No," Andrew said.
Margaret’s attorney blinked. "Excuse me?"
"No deal," Andrew repeated. "Fiduciary negligence is what happens when you make a bad investment. What my mother did was systematic, targeted embezzlement. She forged documents, she funneled money through shell companies, and she did it to enrich one grandchild at the direct expense of another."
"Andrew, please," Margaret whispered, her voice cracking. She looked at him with pleading eyes—a look Andrew had never seen on her face in his entire life. "I am your mother."
"You ceased being my mother when you stood in front of my daughter and told her she was the only grandchild you weren't proud of," Andrew said, his voice flat and unyielding. "You wanted to play God with our lives. Now you get to play by the rules of the court."
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The state attorney nodded. "We will be proceeding with the felony indictment. Furthermore, we are filing secondary charges against Britney Vance-Miller for receiving stolen property and conspiracy to commit grand theft."
Margaret sank back into her chair, looking completely defeated. The empire of pride she had spent forty years building on a foundation of lies and cruelty had officially collapsed.
