Chapter 20 - Facing the disgraced stepmother during a tense courtroom deposition permanently seals her fate behind federal prison bars today.
Two weeks later, Julian and Clara sat in a high-security federal deposition room in Manhattan, facing Genevieve across a stainless steel table.
Genevieve wore an orange prison jumpsuit, her blonde hair unwashed and her manicured nails broken and chipped from weeks in holding.
She glared at Julian with pure, unadulterated venom, her eyes darting to Clara with an expression of intense bitter jealousy.
"You got lucky, Julian," Genevieve sneered, her voice raspy and devoid of its former high-society polish.
"Luck had nothing to do with it, Genevieve; you underestimated a father's love and a loyal woman's bravery," Julian replied coldly.
The federal prosecutor slid a plea agreement across the table, offering a twenty-five-year sentence in exchange for testifying against Zurich.
Genevieve stared at the document, realizing her dreams of wealth and power had ended in a dark, cold prison cell for the rest of her life.
She signed the paper with a shaking hand, slumping back in her chair as a broken shadow of the woman who had once ruled New York society.
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Julian and Clara stood up, walking out of the deposition room into the bright afternoon sunlight without looking back at her once.
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