Chapter 7 - The Deposition Trap
Before the federal hammer could fall on Monday, Arthur and his legal team made one final attempt to force me into a quiet domestic settlement. On Saturday afternoon, my attorney, Sarah Jenkins, hosted a mandatory pre-trial deposition for our divorce proceedings at her offices.
Arthur arrived with Harrison Vance and a team of three junior associates, bringing Julian along like a scolded child. They clearly believed that by overwhelming us with legal intimidation and threatening endless civil litigation over the cleaver incident, they could break my resolve.
We sat across from each other at the long table. A videographer recorded the proceedings, and a certified court reporter sat at the head of the table, her fingers poised over her stenography machine.
Harrison Vance initiated the questioning, trying to paint me as an aggressive, violent individual who had terrorized his brother's family.
"Major Vance," Harrison began, leaning back in his chair with a smug smile. "On the morning of March 14th, isn't it true that you deliberately took a heavy kitchen cleaver, threatened my brother Arthur, and violently impaled the wooden dining table in a fit of rage?"
"I placed the cleaver into the table to establish a physical boundary after Arthur committed unprovoked battery against me," I replied calmly into the microphone. "I made no verbal threat to his life. I stated that I would not allow myself to be physically assaulted."
"Ah, but you provoked the incident, didn't you?" Harrison sneered. "You refused to assist with household chores. You insulted your sister-in-law, Chloe, and displayed insubordination toward the head of the household."
Sarah Jenkins stepped in before I could answer. "Objection. Relevance and argumentative. Insubordination is a military and corporate concept, Mr. Vance. My client is a wife, not an employee of your brother's plantation."
Arthur leaned forward, unable to control his arrogant temper any longer. "She knew her place when she married my son! She lived under my roof, ate my food, and enjoyed my family's money! She owes us obedience!"
Sarah smiled—a cold, calculated expression that made Harrison suddenly look uneasy. She picked up a thick document bound in blue cover stock and slid it across the table toward Arthur.
"Speaking of your family's money, Mr. Vance," Sarah said smoothly, "we have filed a motion for complete financial disclosure regarding marital assets. During our forensic tracing of Julian’s income, we discovered a significant anomaly. Julian received four hundred thousand dollars in corporate distributions last year from a company called Aegis Tactical Solutions."
Arthur’s face instantly froze. The blood drained from his cheeks so fast he looked cadaverous. Harrison grabbed the document, his eyes widening as he read the financial exhibits Sarah had attached.
"This is irrelevant to a divorce proceeding!" Harrison barked, his voice rising in panic. "Aegis is a private subsidiary! We refuse to answer questions regarding corporate holdings!"
"It is entirely relevant, Mr. Vance," Sarah replied, leaning forward. "Because under federal law, marital assets acquired through illegal activity are subject to asset forfeiture. We have reason to believe that Aegis Tactical is a fraudulent shell company used to launder money from defective Defense Department contracts. If Julian’s income is proceeds from federal procurement fraud, my client is legally obligated to report it to federal authorities to avoid criminal liability as a co-conspirator."
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Arthur stood up so violently his chair knocked backward onto the carpet. "This deposition is over!" he roared, pointing a trembling finger at me. "You think you can blackmail me, you little whore? I have judges in this city who dine at my house! I will have you stripped of your rank and thrown in a military prison!"
"Sit down, Arthur," I said, my voice cutting through his rage like a scalpel. I didn't raise my tone, but the sheer command in my delivery made him freeze. "You don't own the judges anymore. And you certainly don't own the Marine Corps. Enjoy your Sunday. It’s the last day of freedom you will ever have."
