Chapter 9 - The Shadow in Florida-9
Three weeks passed.
The autumn leaves on Mercer Island turned a brilliant shade of crimson and amber. Through months of grueling physical therapy, I had progressed from the electric wheelchair to a walker, and finally to a heavy wooden cane.
Every step was still a battle against pain, but it was a battle I was winning.
Leo and Maya were now fourteen months old, running around the sunny courtyard of the St. Jude estate, their bright laughter filling the quiet morning air. They had forgotten the dark, empty house in East Seattle. They were safe, nourished, and loved.
Inside my private study at the recovery center, Daniel Cho was setting up a secure video conference link with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Miami Field Office.
"Julian Vance was apprehended two days ago at a private marina in Fort Lauderdale," Daniel reported, turning the laptop screen toward me. "He was preparing to board a yacht bound for the Bahamas using a forged Panama passport."
On the screen, a stern-faced federal prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Vance (no relation), appeared.
"Mrs. Vance," Prosecutor Vance said, offering a respectful nod. "We have Julian Vance in federal custody. Following Evelyn Mercer's full confession during her grand jury indictment in Seattle, Julian’s legal team offered a complete plea bargain. He confirmed that Evelyn paid him fifty thousand dollars in cash thirty-two years ago to execute the hit-and-run against your biological mother, Claire."
I gripped the handle of my wooden cane, feeling a strange, heavy combination of sorrow and relief settling into my bones. "Why did my mother trust them?"
"Claire was a brilliant scientist, but she was naive about corporate finance," Prosecutor Vance explained. "She hired Richard Mercer as her accountant because he was her college classmate. When Richard started skimming money from her research fund, Claire threatened to report him to the SEC. Richard went home and told Evelyn. Evelyn was the mastermind, Mrs. Vance. She orchestrated the entire hit using her brother Julian, then manipulated Richard into taking legal guardianship of you so they could access the trust distributions."
"And Julian blackmailed Seraphina for three years?" I asked.
"Julian discovered that Seraphina had been appointed a dummy vice-president at VanceTech," Prosecutor Vance nodded. "He threatened to leak the original police reports of the crash to the press unless Seraphina paid him thirty thousand dollars a month. Seraphina used your company's line of credit to pay him off, hiding the expenses under 'international marketing costs.'"
"Is everyone involved in custody now?" I asked.
"Every single one," Prosecutor Vance confirmed. "Evelyn Mercer is facing life without parole for murder for hire. Richard Mercer has been indicted on federal tax fraud, money laundering, and child exploitation charges. Seraphina Mercer is facing ten years for corporate embezzlement and obstruction of justice."
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I closed my eyes, taking a deep, clean breath.
"Thank you, Prosecutor," I said softly. "Ensure the full force of the law is applied. No deals. No leniency."
