Chapter 6 - The Deposition
By Friday morning, we were gathered in a high-floor conference room at the downtown Columbus County Courthouse for an emergency deposition hearing.
The room was freezing. Derek sat across the long glass table, wearing a wrinkled suit that looked like it had been pulled out of a laundry basket. Patricia sat beside him, looking frantic, her manicured nails tapping incessantly against her armrest. Their court-appointed attorney looked thoroughly exhausted, surrounded by thick binders of evidence he had clearly only received the night before.
Denise sat at the head of our side of the table, composed, lethal, and ready.
"Let the record state," the court reporter monotone declared, "that this deposition is being recorded for the matter of Claire Bennett v. Derek Vance, regarding emergency asset freezes and allegations of fraud."
Derek’s lawyer leaned forward, trying to maintain a aggressive posture. "My clients are prepared to settle this entire matter quietly out of court today. If Mrs. Vance unfreezes the $45,000 from P&D Strategic Holdings, drops the protective order, and surrenders half the equity in the residence, we will refrain from filing formal probate fraud charges against Mr. Richard Bennett regarding the 2018 medical trust."
Denise didn't even blink. She slowly opened a dark blue leather folder and slid a certified, stamped document across the glass table.
"Before we discuss your fraudulent extortion attempt," Denise said, her voice dripping with absolute authority, "let’s examine Exhibit A."
Derek’s lawyer picked up the document, scanned it, and his face instantly drained of color.
"What is this?" the lawyer stammered.
"That is a certified forensic accounting audit from the State Trustee Board, stamped three hours ago," Denise announced clearly for the recording. "It confirms that every penny of the 2018 medical trust was accounted for, audited by an independent firm, and placed into a locked 529 College Savings Plan under Lily Vance’s name—a fund that neither Derek nor Patricia can touch."
Patricia gasped, turning to her son. "Derek! You said you had proof he stole it!"
"Shut up, Mom!" Derek snapped, panic leaking into his voice.
"Furthermore," Denise continued smoothly, sliding a second paper across the table, "Exhibit B is an arrest warrant issued thirty minutes ago by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department for Patricia Vance, charging her with six counts of identity fraud, notary forgery, and money laundering."
The conference room doors swung open right on cue.
Two uniform Sheriff's deputies walked into the room, their duty belts clinking sharply in the quiet space.
"Patricia Vance?" one deputy asked, pulling out a pair of steel handcuffs. "You are under arrest. Stand up and put your hands behind your back."
Patricia shrieked, knocking her chair backward as she tried to scramble behind her lawyer. "Derek! Do something! Tell them I didn't do it! You told me to sign those papers!"
"Mom, shut your mouth!" Derek yelled, backing away from the table as the deputies easily restrained his screaming mother and led her toward the door in handcuffs.
Derek turned to me, his eyes wide with absolute terror. "Claire... please... you can't do this to my mom! She’s an old woman!"
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I looked at Derek from across the table. I saw no power in him, no control, no authority—only the pathetic shell of a man who had built a life on deception, theft, and cruelty.
"You left your own daughter eating dry cereal in an empty house while you spent my money on football jerseys and gambling," I said, my voice quiet and unwavering. "You don't get to ask me for mercy now."
