Chapter 3: The Consultation
The office of Marcus Vance smelled of old paper, leather, and expensive bourbon. Vance was a family law attorney with a reputation for handling messy divorces among the city’s elite without ever letting a single detail leak to the press. His gray hair was neatly combed, and his dark eyes assessed me from across a mahogany desk that looked heavy enough to anchor a ship.
"You're telling me your wife of three years has been systematically terrorizing your daughter in the basement while maintaining a pristine public image as a philanthropist," Vance said, his voice flat, devoid of judgment. He slid a printed copy of the cloud storage access logs across the polished wood.
"I have the video files," I said, leaning forward. "Sixteen separate instances recorded over the last two months. Audio, time-stamped, clear as day."
Vance adjusted his tortoiseshell glasses and tapped a finger against the paper. "Arthur, in a custody battle, digital evidence collected from home monitoring systems can be tricky. If Elena claims the network was hacked—which her legal team certainly will—we face an uphill evidentiary battle. Furthermore, under the terms of the prenuptial agreement you signed when you married her, the family trust is tied directly to the primary residence and her board directorship."
"I don't care about the trust," I said tightly. "I care about my daughter's safety."
"Her legal team will care about the trust," Vance countered softly. "And right now, Elena is not just your wife; she is the vice-chair of the Children’s Heritage Foundation. If you walk into a police station with just these clips without establishing a clear chain of custody and ruling out external tampering, her lawyers will paint you as an unstable father undergoing a psychological break. She’s too well-connected."
I stared at him, the reality of our social standing turning cold in my stomach. The very wealth and reputation I had spent a decade building had become a gilded cage, shielding the person holding the key.
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"Then how do we break her protection?" I asked.
Vance leaned back, steepling his fingers. "We don't attack her public face. We find the paper trail. People like Elena don't just act out of malice; they act out of leverage. Find out what she stands to gain by breaking your daughter's spirit, and you'll find the key to locking her away for good."
