Chapter 11 - THE FALL OF VANCE DYNAMICS
Within two hours of Serena's televised testimony, the New York Stock Exchange halted trading on Vance Dynamics shares as the stock price crashed by eighty-five percent. Federal marshals posted seizure notices on the front glass doors of the company's Arlington headquarters.
Inside the executive suite, federal agents packed filing cabinets into cardboard boxes, taking possession of corporate servers and private flight logs. Employees walked out of the building carrying personal items, their faces filled with shock and dismay.
Victoria Vance watched the news coverage from the television inside the women's correctional facility in Virginia. She sat on her metal bunk, her hands clenched into tight fists as she watched her family's century-old legacy crumble in real time.
"This isn't over," Victoria muttered to herself, her voice raspy with uncontained venom. "My grandfather built this empire, and no orphan girl is going to take it away."
A guard unlocked her cell door, signaling for her to step out into the hallway. "You have an unannounced visitor in the attorney consultation room, Victoria. Five minutes."
Victoria walked down the tiled hallway, her heart pounding with a desperate hope that her political contacts had finally secured a legal loophole. She entered the room, finding a man sitting at the table wearing an expensive bespoke suit.
"Who are you?" Victoria demanded, sitting across from him. "Did Senator Vance send you?"
The man looked at her with cold, merciless eyes, sliding a photographs across the table showing Julian's holding cell in Manhattan. "Your son has begun negotiating with the prosecutors, Victoria."
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Victoria gasped, her hand flying to her chest. "Julian would never betray me!"
"He already has," the man replied coldly. "Which means you are no longer a protected asset of our syndicate."
