Chapter 7 - The Cold Cell
Deep within the concrete belly of the county correctional facility,
Mason Vance sat on the edge of a narrow metal cot,
staring at the dirty cinderblock wall in front of him.
The luxurious tailored suit he had worn for his fairytale wedding had been replaced by a coarse,
bright orange jumpsuit that smelled strongly of industrial bleach.
For thirty years,
Mason had lived a life of total privilege,
moving seamlessly through private country clubs,
high-end boardrooms,
and penthouses in Aspen and New York.
Now,
the only sound filling his ears was the heavy clanging of iron doors,
the echo of shouting inmates down the corridor,
and the relentless ticking of a clock he couldn't see.
The heavy slide of the cell door lock startled him,
and he jumped up from the cot,
his eyes wide with desperate hope.
"Is my lawyer here?"
Mason demanded,
rushing toward the small iron window.
"Is my mother outside?"
The guard didn't answer,
simply pulling the door open and gesturing with his heavy baton.
"Visitor for you,
Vance.
"
"In the secure booth.
"
Mason smoothed down his orange jumpsuit with trembling hands,
trying to restore a sense of dignity as he was escorted down the cold hallway to the visiting room.
He expected to see his high-priced defense attorney,
Arthur Sterling,
ready with bail papers and a strategy to wipe away the nightmare.
Instead,
sitting on the other side of the thick bulletproof glass,
was Julian.
Mason dropped into the metal chair,
grabbing the phone handset with desperate force.
"Julian!
Thank God!"
Mason practically yelled into the receiver.
"You have to get Sterling on the phone right now!"
"The police pulled me in on some absurd lie Rachel made up!"
"You need to post my bail,
I'll pay you back double as soon as the offshore transfers clear!"
Julian sat on the other side of the glass,
staring at his former best friend with an expression of cold,
unyielding detachment.
He didn't touch his phone receiver for a long,
agonizing ten seconds.
Finally,
Julian slowly picked up the handset and brought it to his ear.
"There are no offshore transfers,
Mason,
"
Julian said,
his voice smooth,
flat,
and completely devoid of warmth.
"What?"
Mason blinked,
stunned.
"What are you talking about?"
"The state police froze every single account associated with Vance Holdings an hour ago,
"
Julian informed him.
"The SEC has launched a formal investigation into your firm.
"
"Your investors are pulling out,
the bank is foreclosing on the Aspen estate,
and your mother was arrested three hours ago at your house.
"
Mason's face turned ash-grey.
"My mother?
Arrested?
For what?!"
"For helping you try to murder your wife and child,
"
Julian said,
his voice dropping to a harsh whisper that burned through the plastic earpiece.
"I trusted you,
Mason.
"
"We built that company together.
"
"And all the while,
you were using our firm to launder money to cover your gambling debts,
and planning to kill Rachel for insurance money?"
"It wasn't like that!"
Mason lied frantically,
banging his fist against the thick glass.
"Rachel went crazy!
She took the car and got stuck in the snow!
I went to get help!"
"Stop lying!"
Julian roared,
his voice slamming through the speaker so loud that Mason recoiled.
"I saw the telemetry data from your car,
Mason!"
"The doors were locked from the outside using your key fob at 11:12 PM!"
"Your mother's car was tracked moving down the pass at 11:20 PM!"
"You left them there to freeze to death so you could take her inheritance and marry Claire for her father's money!"
Mason gripped the receiver so hard his knuckles turned ghost-white.
He looked around the room,
realizing that the walls were closing in,
that there was no way out of the maze he had constructed.
"Julian.
.
.
please,
"
Mason begged,
his arrogant demeanor completely crumbling into pathetic sobs.
"You're my friend.
.
.
you can't abandon me here.
"
"I'm not abandoning you,
Mason,
"
Julian said,
standing up from his chair and hanging the receiver back on its metal cradle.
"Justice is finally catching up to you.
"
Julian turned his back and walked toward the exit doors without looking back once.
May you like
Mason slammed his hands against the glass,
screaming Julian's name until the guards dragged him back into the shadows of his cell.
