Chapter 4 - The Recovery and the Retaliation
The private wing of Silverspring General Hospital was a stark contrast to the tenement housing of Northside. Catherine lay in a wide, comfortable bed, hooked up to an IV drip delivering antibiotics and nutrient solutions. Her breathing was steady now, her pale cheeks slowly regaining a hint of color under the care of the city's top specialists.
Victor sat in a chair beside her bed, holding her hand. He hadn't slept in thirty-six hours. Annie was asleep on a nearby plush sofa, wrapped in a warm, clean blanket, a half-eaten plate of gourmet room-service food on the table next to her. For the first time in three years, Victor felt a semblance of peace, but it was overshadowed by a cold, calculating desire for justice.
There was a soft knock on the door. Brian stepped in, accompanied by Julian Vance, a sharp, young attorney who had recently joined Victor's corporate legal team, completely independent of the old family lawyers.
"Mr. Williams," Julian whispered, adjusting his glasses. "We have compiled the preliminary financial forensics. It’s exactly as Brian described. Over the last thirty-six months, a total of 1.8 million dollars was transferred from your personal accounts to the dummy account opened under Mrs. Catherine Williams's name. Every single dollar was withdrawn via ATM or wire-transferred directly into an offshore shell corporation owned by Maris Williams."
Victor didn't look up from Catherine's face. His voice was a flat, icy monotone. "What about the forgery?"
"We obtained the original divorce filing from the family archive," Julian said. "Our independent forensic handwriting expert has confirmed that the signature was executed via an autopen device programmed with a modified version of Mrs. Williams's signature. Furthermore, we found a digital file on a secure server belonging to the old family lawyer, Arthur Vance—who, as you know, is my uncle. He kept a recording of the meeting where your mother threatened Catherine with fabricated embezzlement charges against her father."
Victor's eyes snapped open, blazing with fury. "Arthur Vance played along with this?"
"He did, sir. Out of loyalty to your mother and a very large financial kickback," Julian said, his expression grim. "But I have no such loyalty. I’ve already turned over copies of the recording and the bank statements to the federal prosecutor's office. This isn't just a family dispute anymore, Mr. Williams. This is grand larceny, extortion, identity theft, and bank fraud."
At that moment, Catherine's eyes fluttered open. She looked around the pristine room, confused, before her gaze landed on Victor. "Victor... where are we?"
"You're safe, Catherine. You're in the hospital. The doctors are fixing everything," Victor said, his voice instantly softening as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "You never have to worry about a rented room, or working two jobs, or being afraid of my mother ever again."
Catherine looked over at Annie sleeping peacefully on the sofa. A tear rolled down her cheek. "She told me you hated us, Victor. Maris showed me magazine articles of you at galas, looking happy, looking successful. She told me you had moved on and that if I ever tried to interfere with your new life, you would use your billions to crush me and wipe my family off the map. I was so scared for Annie. I didn't care about myself, but I couldn't let them take my baby."
"I know, my love. I know," Victor whispered, stroking her hair. "But the empire I built belongs to you and Annie. And I am going to use every single penny of it to make sure the people who hurt you pay for what they did."
He stood up, turning to Julian and Brian. "Is my mother still at the estate?"
"Yes, sir," Brian replied. "She tried to leave for her villa in Spain this morning, but I took the liberty of removing the spark plugs from all the vehicles in her private garage. And the airport has flagged her passport due to the ongoing federal financial investigation."
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Victor smiled, a cold, humorless expression. "Excellent. Julian, prepare the paperwork for a full asset seizure. I want the family estate in her name transferred to a trust for Annie by noon tomorrow. Brian, get the car. It's time to pay my mother a final visit."
As Victor walked out of the hospital room, he paused to look back at Catherine and Annie. The battle was far from over, but the era of lies was officially dead.
