Chapter 10 - Desperate Rats
Three days passed.
The news media exploded with the scandal. Every major television network and financial tabloid ran front-page headlines detailing the catastrophic collapse of Sterling Maritime and the shocking revelation that Clara Vance, the missing heiress of the Vance empire, had been living undercover as an abused housewife.
Inside the federal detention center, Julian sat across from a public defender behind thick plexiglass. His right arm was bound in a medical sling.
"What do you mean, no bail?!" Julian shouted, his eyes bloodshot and sunken. "My family has connections! Call Judge Harrison!"
"Judge Harrison recused himself two days ago," the tired public attorney replied, shuffling through a mountain of court filings. "Marcus Vance bought the commercial notes on Harrison's private country club last year. Nobody is touching your case, Mr. Sterling. The prosecution has forty-two counts of federal fraud, corporate theft, and attempted second-degree murder. They are offering life with parole after thirty-five years."
May you like
"Thirty-five years?!" Julian slammed his good hand against the glass. "I'm thirty years old! I'll be an old man!"
"You should consider yourself lucky," the attorney said bluntly. "The Morretti family bought your prison contract. The warden had to put you in solitary confinement just to keep you from being shivved in the cafeteria. The Vance family isn't just prosecuting you; they are ensuring you spend every remaining day of your youth in a six-by-eight concrete box."
