Chapter 11: The Federal Deposition
The air inside the federal bankruptcy court on Madison Street smelled of old paper, damp wool, and the kind of stale floor wax that only government buildings seemed to cultivate. Outside, the steady November drizzle of Salem slicked the asphalt, turning the parking lot into a gray mirror reflecting the amber sodium lights of the plaza. I sat on a varnished oak bench in the hallway, holding Leo tightly against my chest. His little fist was curled into the wool of my gray sweater, his breathing soft and even despite the low, vibrating hum of the fluorescent lights overhead.
Arthur Pendelton walked down the corridor from the clerk’s office, his briefcase clicking rhythmically against his thigh. He looked exhausted, his silver hair slightly disheveled and his trench coat damp at the shoulders, but there was a sharp, victorious glint in his pale blue eyes that I hadn't seen since we started this ordeal. He lowered himself onto the bench beside me, dropping a thick stack of blue-backed legal files onto the wood between us.
"The injunction held," Arthur said quietly, keeping his voice down so it wouldn't echo off the high plaster ceilings. "Judge Alvarez signed off on the freeze of all Vance Enterprise accounts at four o'clock. Evelyn’s primary holding company is effectively dead in the water, Clara. She can't move a dollar without a federal signature."
I let out a breath I felt like I’d been holding for a week, my shoulders dropping against the hard slats of the bench. "What about Mark? Was he served?"
Arthur nodded slowly, his expression sobering. "He was deposed an hour ago in Room 302. He didn't fight it, Clara. In fact, he handed over his personal ledgers—the ones his mother made him keep off the corporate books. He's fully cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s office. He knows there's no way back."
"Did he ask about us?" I asked, my fingers gently stroking Leo’s soft brown hair.
"He asked if you were safe," Arthur replied, looking me straight in the eye. "I told him you were under state protection at Aunt Sarah's cabin on the coast, and that you weren't taking visitors. He didn't argue. He just signed the waiver relinquishing all parental claims to interfere with your custody arrangements, pending the final decree."
The weight of those words settled over me, heavy and complex. It wasn't the triumphant vindication I used to imagine when I was locked in that bright, sterile kitchen with Mark screaming at the counter. It was quieter, tinged with a hollow sort of grief for the life we might have had if greed hadn't rotted the foundation from beneath us. But looking down at Leo’s sleeping face, I knew there was no room left for doubt. We had crossed the line, and there was no going back to the glass cage Evelyn had built.
"When does the grand jury convene?" I asked, squaring my jaw as I adjusted the blanket around my baby.
May you like
"Monday morning," Arthur said, standing up and retrieving his briefcase. "And you'll be the primary witness for the prosecution. Are you ready for this, Clara?"
I stood up beside him, shifting Leo to my hip, and looked down the long, empty corridor toward the double doors of the courtroom. "I’ve been ready since the day I packed that canvas bag," I said. "Let's finish this."
