Chapter 6 - The Custody of Truth
Within a week, news of the "Vance Family Horror" hit the headlines across Texas.
Local news stations ran evening segments: Prominent Society Couple Arrested in Federal Service Animal Theft and Multi-Million Dollar Trust Fraud.
Evelyn and Arthur hired the most expensive, ruthless defense team money could buy, posting a staggering $2 million bail each. They immediately attempted to launch a media counter-offensive, claiming that I was an abusive mother who had fabricated the entire scene to steal their family wealth.
My sister-in-law, Brenda—Chloe’s mother—filed an emergency civil injunction against me, claiming that the arrest of her parents was causing "severe psychological trauma" to seven-year-old Chloe.
I sat in my attorney's office, my jaw set.
My lawyer, Fiona Vance—who was working alongside Agent Victoria Vance to represent us—laid out our response.
"They think they can intimidate us with civil lawsuits, Clara," Fiona said, her eyes flashing with determination. "They don't realize we hold every single card."
"What’s our next move, Fiona?" I asked.
"We file for an immediate emergency freezing of all Vance family assets under federal RICO statutes," Fiona declared. "We strip Arthur and Evelyn of every dollar they stole from Maya's trust. By Monday morning, they won't even have enough money left to pay their defense attorneys."
On Monday morning, Judge Robert Vance (no relation, but a notoriously tough federal judge) signed the asset freeze order.
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Every bank account, property deed, luxury vehicle, and investment portfolio held by Arthur and Evelyn Vance was frozen solid by the United States Marshals Service.
When Evelyn tried to pay her lead defense attorney that afternoon, her black American Express card was declined at the counter.
