Chapter 6 - The Forensic Audit
The next forty-eight hours were a blur of intense, surgical precision. While my body healed, my mind was sharper than it had been in years.
With Dr. Hayes ensuring I took adequate rest breaks and Detective Ramirez providing secure communications, I sat up in my hospital bed with a laptop rested on a tray table.
Eleanor thought she had covered her tracks by using private doctors to forge my mental health records. What she didn't know was that every time Julian had forced me to go to one of those "consultations," I had paid attention to the billing codes, the clinic names, and the offshore accounts through which those doctors were paid.
I began pulling up the financial filings of Dr. Aris Thorne’s private clinic.
"Look at this," I pointed out to Detective Ramirez, who was standing over my shoulder. "Dr. Thorne's clinic received three separate 'medical research grants' totaling $1.2 million over the last two years. All three grants came from an LLC called 'Aegis Holdings'."
"Who owns Aegis Holdings?" Ramirez asked.
"A shell company registered in Nevada," I said, my fingers flying over the keyboard, cross-referencing tax IDs I had pulled from Julian's micro-drive. "Which traces back to an account at Cayman First Bank... controlled directly by Eleanor Vance."
It was a classic kickback scheme. Eleanor wasn't just paying these doctors under the table; she was funneling money through fake research grants to purchase false psychiatric diagnoses for anyone who threatened the family—including Julian's late father's former business partners who had previously attempted to sue the family.
"This isn't just witness tampering," I said, turning the screen toward Ramirez. "This is a systemic criminal enterprise using medical fraud to silence victims and commit civil commitments."
By the time the emergency custody and competency hearing arrived, Eleanor and her legal team entered the probate courtroom feeling entirely victorious.
Eleanor sat at the petitioner’s table, dressed impeccably, exuding an aura of tragic, noble concern. Beside her sat three senior attorneys and Dr. Thorne, ready to testify to my supposed "delusions."
Julian was produced from the detention center, wearing a orange jumpsuit, though his legal team had managed to get him groomed for the appearance. He sat quietly, playing the part of the heartbroken, stoic father.
I was wheeled into the courtroom by Dr. Hayes, wearing a simple dark blue maternity dress, my posture straight despite the brace supporting my ribs. My court-appointed attorney walked beside me, carrying a thick black binder I had spent the night assembling.
The judge, a formidable woman named Honorable Sarah Jenkins, pounded her gavel.
"We are here today regarding the matter of Vance v. Vance, concerning the emergency petition for medical guardianship and pre-natal protection," Judge Jenkins stated. "Counsel for the petitioner, you may speak."
Eleanor’s lead attorney stood up smoothly. "Your Honor, we present overwhelming evidence that Clara Vance is suffering from severe, untreated paranoid schizophrenia, making her a danger to herself and her unborn child. We have statements from accredited medical professionals showing a history of self-harm, including the catastrophic fall down the stairs that brought her to the hospital..."
"Your Honor," my attorney interrupted, standing up. "Before the court considers these affidavits, we request permission to submit an evidentiary addendum regarding the medical experts present in this courtroom."
"Objection!" Julian’s attorney snapped. "This is a preliminary hearing!"
"Overruled," Judge Jenkins said, looking over her glasses. "I will hear it."
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My attorney walked forward and placed three copies of my binder on the bench.
"Your Honor, the document before you is a forensic audit prepared by Mrs. Clara Vance, former Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers and certified fraud examiner," my lawyer declared. "It proves that the medical expert sitting at the petitioner's table, Dr. Aris Thorne, received over one million dollars in wire transfers from Eleanor Vance’s offshore accounts in exchange for falsifying Mrs. Vance's medical records."
