Chapter 7 - The Plea Bargain Desperation
Two months later, the pre-trial hearings began at the Kings County Supreme Court in Brooklyn.
Eleanor, Chloe, and Mark were held at the Rikers Island correctional facility after the judge deemed them high-flight risks due to their attempt to flee to Miami and their lack of financial stability.
Sitting in the courtroom behind the prosecution table, I watched as the three of them were led in wearing beige inmate uniforms. Eleanor looked defeated, her once perfectly styled hair now graying and messy. Chloe had lost her arrogant posture, crying continuously as her public defender whispered to her. Mark stared at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
Their defense attorneys approached my legal team during a court recess, desperate to strike a deal.
"Mr. Vance," Eleanor's court-appointed lawyer said, pulling me aside in the hallway. "Your mother is sixty-two years old. She has high blood pressure and cannot survive a lengthy prison sentence. She is willing to sign a full confession, return whatever assets remain, and surrender all claims to your father's estate if you agree to ask the DA for probation and community service."
I looked at the attorney coldly. "She left an eleven-day-old baby in an unheated apartment with no food while my wife was bleeding from an infected surgical wound. Where was her concern for survival then?"
"She regrets it, David," the lawyer pleaded. "She's your mother."
"A mother protects her children," I replied sharply. "She exploited mine. Tell her there will be no plea deal that doesn't involve mandatory prison time."
Minutes later, Chloe’s attorney tried a different angle, bringing Chloe out to a private conference room so she could speak to me directly under guard supervision.
"David, please!" Chloe sobbed, throwing herself toward the table, her handcuffed hands trembling. "It was all Mom's idea! She told us you gave her permission to spend the money! Mark and I didn't know Maya was that sick! We thought she was just tired!"
"You told her to stop whining and said she had a baby, not a kidney transplant, Chloe," I reminded her, my voice deadpan. "I have it on tape. You watched her cry in pain and walked out the door with suitcases bought with my money."
"I was selfish! I was stupid!" Chloe wailed. "Don't ruin my life over this, David! Mark lost his job because of the arrests! We're going to lose our house!"
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"You ruined your own life the moment you treated my wife like trash," I said, standing up. "You wanted to live like royalty on my dime. Now you get to pay the price."
I walked out of the room, leaving her screaming my name into the empty corridor.
