Chapter 9 - The House of Cards Collapses
"Emma, darling, please..." Sophia suddenly dropped to her knees, crawling toward Emma across the Persian rug, grabbing at the hem of Emma’s trousers. "Please, Emma, we didn't know! I swear to God, Richard and I didn't know about Harold! Mother told us you were trying to cut us out! She told us you were greedy!"
"Get off me, Sophia," Emma said coldly, stepping back out of her half-sister’s grasp. "Last night, your daughters laughed while my eight-year-old child sat with an empty plate. You didn't care about family then."
"Emma!" Richard stepped forward, his hands raised in surrender, sweat pouring down his forehead. "We can settle this! We are siblings! We grew up in this house together! You can't let them take everything! My wife, my children—we’ll have nowhere to go!"
"You can get jobs, Richard," Daniel interjected smoothly. "Like the rest of the world. Though I doubt Vance Holdings will keep you on payroll after the forensic accountants arrive at noon."
Margaret suddenly slammed her fists down on the dining table, her eyes wild, her hair falling loose from its pins.
"You think you’ve won, Emma?" Margaret snarled, shedding every shred of maternal disguise. "You think you can just walk in here with Arthur’s old cronies and strip me of my title? I am Margaret Vance! I built this family’s social standing! Arthur was nothing but a timid accountant with an inheritance! Without me, this name means nothing!"
"Your name is Margaret Vance only by marriage, Margaret," Judge Sterling said, pulling a court order from the dossier. "And as of this morning, under Section 14 of the St. Jude Trust charter, your legal rights to the Vance surname in connection with any commercial entity, trust asset, or charitable foundation have been permanently revoked."
May you like
Judge Sterling slid the document across the table.
"You have until 5:00 PM today to vacate these premises," Sterling said. "You may take your personal clothing and toiletries. Every piece of jewelry purchased with trust funds, every artwork, every vehicle registered to Vance Holdings remains on this property."
