Chapter 33 - Bloodlines in the Mist
"You thought you could leave me in Clark County with the wreckage?!" Vanessa’s voice tore through the quiet coastal afternoon like a siren.
She marched up the walkway, her expensive silk blouse stained with coffee, her face drawn and frantic. Behind her, four children sat quietly in the backseat of the coupe, their faces pressed against the tinted glass—the very children Vanessa had abandoned with me time and time again whenever she wanted a weekend of baccarat and champagne in Nevada.
"Vanessa, stay back," Marcus warned, stepping to the bottom of the steps. "You have no legal right to step foot on this property. The restraining order granted by the district court covers Harbor Bay."
"Screw the restraining order!" Vanessa shrieked, pointing a manicured, trembling finger at the open chest on the table. "Julian is bankrupt! The feds raided his penthouse in Summerlin yesterday morning! They froze my accounts, Marcus! They took my house! They took my car leases! And you—" She glared directly at me, her face twisting with bitter jealousy. "You're sitting out here on a private estate opening Arthur’s personal vault!"
"This isn't Arthur's vault, Vanessa," I said, my voice steady, though my heart was hammering against my ribs. "This belongs to Eleanor Vance. A woman you and your mother helped erase."
Vanessa froze for a fraction of a second, an ugly shadow crossing her features. "Eleanor? That crazy old woman died thirty years ago. Arthur told us she was a lunatic who signed away everything before she vanished. Everything in that chest belongs to Arthur's surviving legitimate heirs—and that means me!"
"You really don't know, do you?" Jonathan said, turning to face her.
Vanessa recoiled slightly. "Jonathan? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Carson City defending Julian's probate!"
"Julian is going to federal prison, Vanessa," Jonathan said coldly. "And the reason your accounts were frozen wasn't Julian's tax fraud. It was because the Vance family trust revoked the power of attorney Arthur illegally signed in 1996. Every cent you spent in Vegas, every trip, every diamond necklace you flaunted while Claire was raising your four children—it was paid for by stolen maritime dividends belonging to Claire's mother."
Vanessa laughed, a shrill, hysterical sound that sent birds fluttering from the harbor pines. "You think some old papers can undo thirty years of reality? I have Arthur's primary will! My attorney is filing an emergency petition in Harbor Bay municipal court tomorrow morning! You can't leave me with nothing, Claire! Look at my kids! Look at what you're doing to my family!"
"I took care of your children when you disappeared for weeks at a time," I said, stepping to the edge of the porch, looking down at the woman who had made my youth a living nightmare. "I fed them, I clothed them, and I comforted them while you mocked me on social media for being a struggling mother. You didn't care about your children when you were gambling Arthur's money away. You only care about them now because they are the last human shield you have left."
Vanessa’s eyes turned venomous. "We’ll see what the court says tomorrow, sister. You think you've won? You don't even know what Julian left behind in Harbor Bay."
May you like
With that, she spun on her heel, slammed back into her car, and sped down the driveway, leaving behind a cloud of gray dust and the heavy weight of an impending storm.
***
