Chapter 4 - The Rat in the Cage
The County Remand Center was a bleak, concrete fortress that smelled of rust and bleach. Victor Miller sat in a small, windowless interrogation room, his grey prison jumpsuit three sizes too big for his frame. His hair was greasy, his eyes bloodshot, and his hands trembled violently as he stared across the metallic table at his lawyer, Richard Vance (no relation to Marcus), a public defender appointed after his private council abruptly quit upon learning who was funding the prosecution.
“What do you mean I can’t get bail?!” Victor shrieked, banging his cuffed hands against the metal table. “My father has property! He can put up the house!”
Richard sighed, rubbing his temples. “Victor, listen to me very carefully. Your father doesn’t own that house anymore. Vance Global’s legal team filed an emergency lien against all your family’s real estate assets this morning due to unpaid commercial damages. Your father is bankrupt. Your mother is currently in the medical wing having panic attacks, and your sister Nora is facing charges as an accessory to attempted murder.”
“This is crazy!” Victor yelled, tears streaming down his face. “She’s my wife! It was a domestic dispute! Couples fight! She disrespected my mother! She refused to make breakfast! I was just establishing discipline!”
Richard looked at Victor with a mixture of disbelief and utter contempt. “You beat a six-month pregnant woman unconscious with a heavy wooden cane while your sister filmed it and your mother clapped. The district attorney isn’t treating this as a ‘domestic dispute.’ They are trying this as attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and felony child endangerment.”
“She lied to me!” Victor screamed, his face contorting with rage. “She pretended to be a poor orphan! If I knew she was Marcus Vance’s niece, do you think I would have ever raised my voice to her?! She tricked us!”
“That is not a defense, Victor,” Richard said coldly. “In fact, if you say that in front of a jury, you will practically guarantee a life sentence. The prosecutor is relentless. And Marcus Vance has hired Julian Ross to represent your wife in the civil suit.”
Victor’s face went completely blank. Even a small-time real estate scammer like Victor knew the name Julian Ross. Ross was known as ‘The Executioner’ in the corporate and civil courts—a brilliant, ruthless attorney who had never lost a high-stakes damages case in thirty years.
“What... what does Julian Ross want?” Victor whispered, his confidence completely evaporating.
Richard pulled a thick stack of legal documents from his briefcase and slid them across the table.
“This is a full divorce petition, a complete forfeiture of all marital property, a permanent protective order, and a surrender of all parental rights to the unborn child,” Richard said. “If you sign this now, Ms. Vance’s legal team may agree not to push for maximum sentencing on the civil fraud charges against your personal accounts.”
Victor stared at the documents. His mind raced. He had thought he was marrying an obedient, helpless girl whom he could control and dominate. He had envisioned a life where he controlled her, her time, and her dignity. Now, he was sitting in a freezing cell, stripped of his dignity, his family’s wealth gone, facing decades behind bars.
“I won’t sign it,” Victor spat, a sickening, desperate malice returning to his eyes. “I’m the father of that baby! She can’t take my child away from me! I have rights! I’ll tell the press she was unstable! I’ll say she fell down the stairs!”
Richard shook his head, standing up and packing his briefcase. “You really don’t get it, do you, Victor? The video shows you hitting her while she was on the floor wrapping her arms around her stomach. There are no stairs in that kitchen. The grand jury indicts tomorrow morning. Good luck.”
As the guard opened the door to lead Victor back to his cell, Victor grabbed the steel bars of the door, his knuckles turning white.
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“Tell Maya I want to see her!” Victor screamed down the corridor. “Tell her if she doesn’t come see me, I’ll make sure everyone knows what kind of monster her uncle is! Tell her!”
The heavy iron door slammed shut, cutting off his desperate screams, locking him back into the dark silence he so richly deserved.
