Chapter 8 - The Courtroom Bloodbath
The divorce deposition took place in a sterile, windowless conference room in downtown Manhattan.
I sat at the long wooden table, wearing a sharp, tailored white suit, looking like a woman who owned the world.
Arthur Vance sat beside me, organizing his mountain of pristine legal documents.
Marcus walked in looking like a ghost.
He had lost weight. He wore a cheap, ill-fitting suit he had bought off the rack. His eyes were sunken and bloodshot from sleepless nights.
He was accompanied by a discount divorce attorney who looked incredibly intimidated by Arthur.
The moment the court reporter hit record, Arthur unleashed an absolute bloodbath.
Marcus’s lawyer tried to argue for spousal support, claiming Marcus had grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle during the marriage.
Arthur laughed out loud.
“Mr. Sterling’s lifestyle was entirely funded by my client’s separate corporate assets,” Arthur stated.
Arthur slid a thick ledger across the table.
“We have documented over $150,000 in marital funds that Mr. Sterling illegally diverted to pay for luxury gifts, hotel rooms, and secret accounts for his mistress.”
Marcus stared at the ledger, his jaw clenching in panic.
“Under the state laws of equitable distribution, this constitutes a gross dissipation of marital assets,” Arthur explained coldly.
“We are not only denying spousal support, but we are demanding full reimbursement of the stolen funds.”
Marcus’s cheap lawyer stammered, flipping through the pages in a panic.
“My client doesn't have the capital to repay that sum!” the lawyer protested.
“Then I suggest your client liquidates his remaining personal assets,” Arthur smiled ruthlessly.
Arthur then pulled out the ultimate weapon: the transcript of the tea shop conversation between Marcus, Eleanor, and Chloe.
He read it aloud into the official legal record.
Every word of their malicious conspiracy to financially drain me was documented forever.
Marcus put his head in his hands, completely defeated, realizing he was legally and financially trapped in a cage of his own making.
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He had walked into the deposition hoping for a settlement.
He walked out owing me hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution.
