Chapter 17 - Thirty-Five Years of Spite
Jason looked frantically between Arthur and Julian, totally lost in the sudden shift of power. "Dad? Who the hell is this guy? Why are we standing here? Tell Brian to sign the damn papers! My broker said if Vanguard files the fraud report by 8:00 AM, the SEC will freeze my personal passport!"
"Shut up, Jason!" Arthur screamed, his voice cracking with a terrifying hysteria. He pointed a shaking finger at Julian. "You have no legal standing here! You gave up your rights thirty-five years ago! Evelyn Harrington signed the release! Brian is legally my son! My property!"
"I am nobody's property, Arthur," I said, stepping forward. For the first time, I stood at my full height, looking directly down into Arthur’s bloodshot eyes. "I spent my childhood wondering why you never looked at me with pride. Why a straight-A report card earned a grunt, while Jason crashing his first BMW earned a chuckle and a new sports car. I blamed myself. I thought I wasn't smart enough, wasn't charismatic enough, wasn't worthy of being a Vance."
I took another step. Arthur involuntarily flinched.
"You didn't hate me because I failed," I said, each word landing like a lead weight. "You hated me because every time you looked at my face, you saw the man you could never measure up to. You saw Julian Sterling. And you knew that every penny you had, every client you served, was bought with his son's bloodline."
Amanda collapsed onto a nearby velvet bench, weeping uncontrollably. "Brian, please... we had to protect the family name! My father would have disowned me! Arthur took us in!"
"Arthur didn't take you in out of charity, Amanda," Julian cut in, his tone ice-cold. "He took you in because he was a bankrupt fraud whose family firm was six weeks away from foreclosure. Judge Harrington bought Arthur like a prize dog to keep the scandal out of the Boston papers."
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Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out a crisp, single-page legal notice from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
"And speaking of bankrupt frauds," Julian continued, tossing the paper onto the coffee table before Arthur. "Vanguard didn't just audit Jason's escrow accounts tonight. I bought the senior debt on Vance Logistics four hours ago through my London holding group. As of midnight, Arthur, the company is in receivership. You are officially unemployed."
