Chapter 15 - The Deposition
The conference room at Sterling & Associates was chilled to an uncomfortable degree, designed specifically to keep hostile witnesses from getting comfortable. Julian Vance sat at the end of the long oak table, wearing a faded gray suit that hung too loosely on his shoulders. Without his personal stylist, his luxury grooming routine, or his corporate expense account, he looked like a hollow, graying shadow of the arrogant titan who had once ruled the city's real estate market.
Across from him sat Victoria Sterling, a court reporter typing rhythmically on a stenograph machine, and Maya, who sat with a stack of bound exhibits resting before her.
"Mr. Vance," Victoria began, her voice cutting through the silence like a scalpel. "Let the record reflect that we are here for the videotaped deposition regarding the asset division of Vance vs. Vance, as well as the concurrent civil fraud claims filed by the Harrison Vance Trust. Please state your legal name for the record."
"Julian Marcus Vance," he muttered, staring down at his knuckles.
"Mr. Vance, I am handing you what has been marked as Exhibit 14-B," Victoria said, sliding a laminated sheet of paper across the table. "Could you please read the highlighted text aloud for the video record?"
Julian squinted at the paper, his jaw tightening. "It’s an email."
"Read the highlighted portion aloud, Mr. Vance," Victoria repeated, her tone admitting no negotiation. "Or we can adjourn to the judge's chambers down the street and have him compel you to read it under threat of contempt."
Julian swallowed hard, his voice trembling with humiliated rage as he read his own words from six months prior: "‘Don't worry about Maya's forensic background. She's been out of the corporate loop for seven years. She’s too busy driving Leo to soccer practice and buying groceries to understand how real estate capitalization works. We can siphon thirty percent of the commercial portfolio into the Zurich accounts before she even notices the dividend drops.’"
The silence in the room after he finished reading was absolute, broken only by the soft clack-clack of the court reporter's keys.
"Did you write and send that email to Miss Elena Vance on November 14th of last year?" Victoria asked.
"Yes," Julian whispered, unable to lift his eyes to look at Maya.
"And when you stated that my client was 'too busy buying groceries to understand capitalization,' were you aware that she was simultaneously holding the proxy voting rights for fifty-one percent of your firm's voting shares?"
May you like
"No," he choked out. "I... I forgot about the grandfather's codicil."
Maya leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table, fixing Julian with a gaze so cold it made him physically flinch. "You didn't forget, Julian. You just assumed arrogance was a substitute for intelligence. We're done here, Victoria. Let's move to the liquidation phase."
