Chapter Eight: The Trial

The lawsuit lasted eight months.

Eight months of depositions. Eight months of document production. Eight months of sleeping four hours a night.

Vivian hired her own attorneys. Not Spencer & Associates. A firm that specialized in estate litigation. Women. Fierce. Expensive.

Damon’s forensic accountants provided evidence. The loans. The debt. The manipulation. The emails between Eleanor and Gerald Spencer discussing how to “handle the Damon problem.”

Eleanor fought back.

She claimed Vivian was being controlled by Damon. That he was after the family fortune. That he had manipulated her daughter into turning against her own mother.

The judge didn’t believe her.

Because the fortune didn’t exist.

Because the evidence was overwhelming.

Because Eleanor made the mistake of lying under oath.

In the end, the court ruled that the trust clause was unenforceable. Vivian received her inheritance: approximately three million in cash and assets, after debts were settled.

The rest of Vance Capital was liquidated.

Sold for pennies on the dollar.

Employees laid off.

The Vance name, once respected, became a cautionary tale.

Eleanor moved to a smaller house. A condo in Naperville. Her social circle shrank. Her health declined.

Vivian visited her once.

It was a Tuesday. Gray. Cold.

They sat in Eleanor’s small living room.

The air was thick with unspoken things.

“I still think you made a mistake,” Eleanor said. “Choosing him over your family.”

“He is my family,” Vivian replied. “He’s my husband. And he’s the father of my future children.”

Eleanor looked away.

“Your father would be disappointed.”

“No. Dad would be proud. He loved Damon. You’re the one who couldn’t accept him.”

Vivian stood up.

She kissed her mother’s cheek.

Cold. Papery.

“Goodbye, Mom.”

She walked out.

She didn’t look back.

When she came home, she cried in Damon’s arms.

“She’s still angry,” Vivian said. “She still blames you.”

“I know.”

“Does that bother you?”

Damon pulled her close.

“I have you. That’s all I need.”

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