Chapter 13 - THE BAIL HEARING
Despite the felony charges, Eleanor’s defense team managed to secure a high-stakes bail hearing within forty-eight hours.
Inside the federal courthouse in Columbia, South Carolina, a federal magistrate set bail at five million dollars cash.
Without flinching, Eleanor’s head attorney signed a wire transfer document from Vance Enterprise liquid accounts.
By 4:00 PM, Eleanor walked out the front steps of the courthouse a free woman pending trial, surrounded by a wall of private security guards.
Flashbulbs popped continuously as reporters shoved microphones toward her face.
"Mrs. Vance! Are you resigning from the Vance Enterprise board?" a journalist shouted.
Eleanor ignored the press, stepping into the back of a black bulletproof SUV.
Inside the vehicle, she pulled out an encrypted satellite phone and dialed an international number.
"The court gave the children to Nora," Eleanor said, her voice turning deathly cold. "Initiate Protocol Seven."
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"Are you sure, ma'am?" a voice replied over the speaker. "Protocol Seven means complete liquidation of all assets."
"If I can't have the Vance bloodline," Eleanor sneered, looking out at the city streets, "then nobody will."
