Chapter 3 - The Deposition Notice
The rain had finally cleared by mid-October, leaving the surface of Lake Washington looking like a sheet of hammered pewter under the pale autumn sun. But the storm inside the Vance estate was gathering strength.
I was in the kitchen preparing apple slices and peanut butter for the girls' afternoon snack when Julian’s general counsel, a sharp-suited bulldog of a man named Marcus Holloway, strode through the back patio doors. His briefcase hit the marble island with a heavy thud that made the crystal fruit bowl rattle.
“We have a serious problem, Julian,” Marcus said, completely ignoring my presence until Julian raised a hand to silence him.
“Elena is part of this family’s care team, Marcus. Speak freely, or don't speak at all,” Julian said, stepping in from the terrace where he had been watching Chloe draw chalk rainbows on the flagstones.
Marcus sighed, loosening his silk tie. “Beatrice wasn't operating entirely on her own. We traced the funding for her legal defense team. She isn't paying for one of the top criminal defense lawyers in Seattle on a nanny’s savings. The retainer was wired from an offshore holding company linked to the Sterling family.”
The name hit the room like a physical blow. I watched Julian’s jaw clench so hard a muscle twitched near his ear.
“Victoria,” Julian spat out, the name dripping with venom.
“Who is Victoria?” I asked, setting the paring knife down on the cutting board.
“Sarah’s mother,” Julian said, turning to face me. The raw grief in his eyes had been replaced by a cold, calculating fury. “My mother-in-law. When Sarah died, Victoria demanded full legal custody of the triplets. She claimed my work schedule made me an unfit parent. The judge threw her petition out because Sarah’s will explicitly named me as sole guardian. But Victoria swore she would find a way to take the girls to her estate in Boston.”
Marcus pulled a formal legal document from his briefcase and slid it across the marble island. “It gets worse. Victoria is filing a civil motion for emergency temporary guardianship, claiming that Julian is medically neglecting the children by allowing them to be treated by—and I quote—‘an unlicensed former waitress with zero clinical credentials.’ She’s using your hiring, Elena, as proof that Julian is incompetent.”
My breath caught in my throat. I looked down at the legal document, seeing my own name printed in sharp, black font next to phrases like lack of professional qualification and potential endangerment to minors.
“They want to use me to take the girls away from him?” I asked, my voice rising in disbelief.
“They want to use anything they can,” Julian said, stepping close to the island and placing his hand over mine. His touch was warm, grounding me in the sudden spin of the room. “Victoria recommended Beatrice to me three weeks after Sarah’s funeral. I thought it was an olive branch from a grieving grandmother. Now I realize it was a calculated Trojan horse. She placed Beatrice here to document 'behavioral issues' so she could build a custody case.”
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“And when Beatrice went too far and abused them,” I realized with a shudder, “Victoria decided to fund her defense to keep her quiet about who really placed her here.”
“Exactly,” Marcus said grimly. “The deposition is set for next Tuesday. And Elena? They’ve subpoenaed you. Victoria’s lawyers are going to try to tear you apart on the record to prove you're unfit to be near those children.”
