Chapter 6 - The House of Cards Collapses
By Wednesday afternoon, the Vance family name was synonymous with disgrace. The video had leaked to local news outlets and went viral on social media within hours, labeling them "The Monster Family of High Society."
Protesters and news vans camped outside their gated driveway. Barbara couldn't even show her face at the grocery store without being cursed at, and Arthur’s country club membership was revoked via a humiliating public email sent to all members.
Inside the house, the atmosphere had devolved into a toxic war zone. The electricity was on, but the air conditioning had been shut off because the utility companies had frozen their automatic payment accounts.
"This is all your fault!" Barbara screamed, throwing a crystal vase at Marcus, which shattered against the wall. "If you had just kept her under control without acting like a maniac on camera, we wouldn't be ruined!"
"My fault?!" Marcus screamed back, his eyes bloodshot and wild. He hadn't slept in two days. "You told me to hit her! You were standing right there cheering me on, Mother!"
"Both of you shut up!" Arthur yelled from the sofa, clutching his broken wrist. "We need money. I tried to withdraw cash from the offshore trust this morning. The bank told me the account was drained by a court-ordered asset seizure. We have less than two hundred dollars to our names!"
Lucas sat on the staircase, frantically packing a duffel bag. "I'm leaving. I'm going to crash at a friend's place in state lines before the cops arrest me as an accessory."
"You're not going anywhere!" Marcus snarled, grabbing his brother by the collar.
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As the brothers wrestled on the floor, the front door bell rang. It wasn't the police this time. It was a process server, sliding a thick stack of legal documents through the mail slot. Marcus ripped the envelope open.
They were divorce papers, accompanied by an emergency protective order, a total asset freeze, and a civil lawsuit demanding twenty million dollars in damages for physical and psychological trauma.
