Chapter 13 - The Oregon Gambit
While the financial war with Sterling escalated in San Diego,
a desperate move was being executed three hundred miles to the north.
In a quiet,
forested suburb near Portland,
Oregon,
Michelle Vance sat inside her modest two-story townhouse.
The house was paid for by the restricted trust fund I had established for the twins,
Julian and Clara.
For six months,
Michelle had lived a quiet,
isolated life under the constant supervision of court-appointed trustees.
She had no luxury cars,
no designer clothes,
and no contact with high society.
Her days were spent entirely caring for the six-month-old infants.
It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon when a black SUV with tinted windows pulled up to her driveway.
Two men in sharp dark suits stepped out,
walking up the stone path to her front door.
Michelle answered the door,
holding little Clara in her arms.
The lead man,
a tall blonde lawyer carrying a leather briefcase,
offered a cold,
professional smile.
"Michelle Vance?"
"Yes?"
Michelle asked,
her body instantly tensing with anxiety.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Julian Vance,"
the attorney stated,
handing her a business card stamped with the logo of Sterling Global Capital.
"I represent Harrison Sterling.
We are here to offer you a way out of your exile."
Michelle backed away slightly,
clutching the baby tighter to her chest.
"I don't want any trouble.
Victoria Vance built this trust for my children.
I signed an agreement never to speak to reporters or lawyers."
"Victoria Vance trapped you in this cage,"
Julian sneered,
stepping uninvited into her hallway while his associate closed the front door behind them.
"She gave you a pathetic allowance while she lives in a fifty-million-dollar penthouse in San Diego.
Those twins are the biological heirs of Dominic Lawson.
Under international probate law,
if you appoint Sterling Capital as the legal guardian of the children's estate,
we can break Victoria's trust,
seize Dominic's foreclosed assets back from her,
and grant you a lump-sum payout of twenty million dollars."
Michelle stared at the lawyer,
her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
Twenty million dollars.
It was enough to reclaim the life of luxury she had lost.
It was enough to escape the quiet,
boring purgatory Victoria had forced her into.
"Twenty million?"
Michelle whispered,
her fingers trembling against the baby's blanket.
"All you have to do,"
the attorney continued,
pulling a legal petition from his briefcase,
"is sign this custody transfer document.
We will fly you and the babies to London tonight,
far beyond the reach of Victoria Vance’s legal team."
Michelle looked at the pen held out toward her.
The temptation was overwhelming,
burning through her veins like a dangerous drug.
She reached out her trembling hand to take the pen.
Suddenly,
the front door was kicked open with violent force!
Four heavily armed private security guards wearing dark tactical vests carrying the Vance Holdings insignia burst into the foyer!
"FEDERAL MARSHALS AND VANCE SECURITY!"
the lead guard shouted,
pointing a weapon directly at Sterling’s attorney.
"STEP AWAY FROM THE RESIDENT IMMEDIATELY!"
The two lawyers gasped,
dropping their briefcases as they threw their hands into the air.
From behind the security team,
Arthur Vance walked calmly into the hallway,
holding his phone on speaker.
My voice rang out clearly from the phone,
filling the tense room.
"Did you really think I wouldn't monitor your every move,
Michelle?"
Michelle fell to her knees,
clutching Clara and crying hysterically as security officers cuffed Sterling’s lawyers against the wall.
"Victoria!"
Michelle sobbed into the room.
"I didn't sign anything!
I swear I didn't sign!"
"You hesitated,
Michelle,"
my voice replied from the phone,
cold and unyielding.
"And hesitation is a violation of your trust covenant."
"Please!"
Michelle begged.
"Don't take the babies!
Don't take the house!"
"The children will remain in the house,"
I instructed Arthur over the phone.
"Remove Michelle’s guardianship rights immediately.
Appoint a full-time,
court-approved nanny service to manage the estate.
As for Mr. Sterling's attorneys,
have the federal marshals arrest them for conspiracy to commit international child abduction."
"Understood,
Mrs. Vance,"
Arthur confirmed,
hanging up the phone.
Michelle wept on the carpet as the marshals led Sterling's lawyers away in handcuffs.
She had traded her freedom for greed once before with Christopher,
May you like
and now,
her final chance at redemption was gone forever.
