Chapter 8
"I didn't say that!" Derek lied frantically, his eyes darting toward the remaining guests who were cowering in the corners of the room. "Tell him! Tell him I didn't say it! Vesper is crazy! She attacked my mother unprovoked!"
None of the guests spoke. They simply stared at the floor, terrified of catching Arthur Vance's eye.
"You are a coward, Derek," Arthur said quietly. "You hide behind your mother's skirt and you prey on women and children. I gave you my granddaughter because I believed you were a decent man. I see now I was catastrophically mistaken."
Arthur snapped his fingers.
Two of the towering bodyguards stepped forward, moving with blinding, professional speed. Before Derek could even raise his hands to defend himself, they grabbed him by the arms, slamming him face-first onto the polished mahogany dining table. The remaining silverware and crystal glasses crashed to the floor.
"Hey! Get off me!" Derek screamed, thrashing wildly against the heavy hands pinning him down. "You can't do this! I have rights!"
"You forfeited your rights the moment you threatened to put this boy on the street," Arthur stated, walking slowly toward the pinned man.
Martha finally managed to scramble to her knees, slipping in the sauce, her pearls swinging wildly. "Arthur, stop this! I will sign whatever you want! We will tear up the transfer papers! Just let my son go!"
"Oh, you are going to sign something, Martha," Vesper said, stepping forward, her voice ringing with newfound, absolute authority.
Vesper reached into her grandfather's overcoat pocket and pulled out a fresh, pristine folder. She opened it and dropped a thick stack of legal documents directly onto the table beside Derek’s face.
"What is this?" Derek gasped, his cheek pressed hard against the wood.
"Those are the annulment papers, Derek," Vesper explained coldly. "Along with a full, unconditional surrender of your parental rights to Nash. You will also find a deed of forfeiture for the Bennett Holding Company, transferring all liquid assets to the Vance Trust as restitution for the fraud you attempted to commit tonight."
"I won't sign that!" Derek yelled, spit flying from his lips. "You're taking everything! You're leaving us with nothing!"
"I am leaving you with your miserable, pathetic lives," Vesper replied, leaning down so her face was inches from his. "Which is far more generosity than you showed my son tonight."
"And if I refuse?" Derek sneered, trying to sound defiant despite being pinned to a table.
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Arthur pulled a sleek, black smartphone from his pocket. He tapped the screen once and held it up.
"If you refuse, Derek," Arthur said smoothly, "I press this button. The digital copies of your forged documents are instantly transmitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the IRS, and the District Attorney's office. You will be arrested for federal wire fraud, conspiracy, and forgery before the sun rises. You will spend the next twenty years in a federal penitentiary, and your mother will die in a minimum-security cell."
