Chapter 6 - The Deposition
The pre-trial deposition took place on the fourteenth floor of a glass-and-steel skyscraper in downtown Minneapolis. The room was sterile and imposing, centered around a polished mahogany conference table.
On one side sat Victoria Vance, draped in a cream-colored Chanel suit, looking immaculate and stoic. Beside her sat Arthur Sterling, her lead defense counsel, a man with cold blue eyes and a reputation for tearing witnesses to pieces. To her left sat Julian, looking gaunt, dark circles carved under his eyes, avoiding all eye contact with me.
On my side sat Eleanor Vance-Reyes, Marcus the investigator, and myself.
The court reporter adjusted her machine. "This is the deposition of Victoria Elizabeth Vance in the matter of State v. Vance and Vance v. Vance."
Eleanor did not hesitate. She took the lead immediately, her voice calm, precise, and devoid of emotion.
"Mrs. Vance, on December 27th, did you purchase a box of heavy-duty contractor trash bags from the local hardware store?"
Sterling leaned forward. "Objection as to relevance."
"Overruled by agreement of discovery protocols," Eleanor countered instantly. "Answer the question, Mrs. Vance."
Victoria gave a small, condescending smile. "I purchase home supplies regularly. I do not keep track of every mundane purchase."
Eleanor pulled out a laminated document. "This is a certified receipt from Miller’s Hardware, dated December 27th at 11:14 AM, signed with your credit card, showing the purchase of 55-gallon heavy-duty plastic bags and a two-inch leather utility strap. Do you recognize this?"
Victoria’s smile faltered slightly. "I may have bought those items for garden maintenance."
"Garden maintenance?" Eleanor asked, leaning forward. "Did you use those garden supplies on your six-year-old granddaughter, Elena?"
"I did not 'use supplies' on her," Victoria spat, her composure cracking around the edges. "I attempted to teach a child basic physical restraint! Clara allows that girl to gorge herself on sweets! Someone in this family has to maintain standards!"
"Did you cut head and arm holes into one of those plastic bags and force Elena to wear it for three hours in a room heated to eighty-five degrees?"
"It was a wellness technique!" Victoria snapped, her voice rising, filling the quiet room. "Sweating clears toxins! It is a well-documented discipline method! My mother used it on me, and I used it on Julian! Look at Julian—he is a successful architect because I instilled discipline in him!"
Every eye in the room turned to Julian. He sat frozen, his face flushing crimson.
Eleanor turned her gaze directly to Julian. "Mr. Vance, is it true? Did your mother use these exact same methods on you when you were nine years old, resulting in your hospitalization at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in July of 1996?"
Sterling slammed his hand on the table. "Objection! My client's parenting history from thirty years ago is completely irrelevant to these proceedings!"
"It goes directly to intent, habit, and criminal pattern under Rule 404(b)!" Eleanor fired back, her voice ringing like a bell. "Answer the question, Julian. Did she do this to you?"
Julian shook violently. He looked at his mother, whose eyes were fixed on him with a terrifying, imperious glare—the same look that had kept him obedient for thirty-four years. Then he looked across the table at me, and then down at the photograph Eleanor had placed in front of him: a close-up picture of Elena’s bruised back.
A heavy, suffocating silence gripped the room for ten long seconds. The air felt electric.
Julian swallowed hard. A single tear escaped his eye and trailed down his cheek.
"Yes," Julian whispered.
Victoria turned to him, her face twisting in pure rage. "Julian! How dare you?!"
"Yes!" Julian repeated, louder this time, his voice breaking with decades of suppressed pain. "Yes, she did! She locked me in the attic! She made me wear plastic bags! She hit me with that same leather strap until I couldn't sit down! She told me I was fat, weak, and worthless!"
"You ungrateful little coward!" Victoria shrieked, standing up so fast her heavy leather chair toppled backward onto the carpet. "I made you! Everything you have, every cent in your bank account, came from me! You would be nothing without me!"
"Mrs. Vance, sit down!" the court reporter called out, while Sterling frantically tried to grab his client's arm.
"I am her grandmother! I have the right to mold her!" Victoria screamed, completely oblivious to the fact that the deposition video camera was recording every second of her manic outburst. "She is a Vance! I will not let a low-class schoolteacher like Clara ruin my bloodline with fat, undisciplined children!"
Eleanor slowly sat back in her chair, a look of quiet triumph on her face. She looked directly at the video camera, then at Sterling.
May you like
"I believe we have answered all necessary questions regarding intent and pattern," Eleanor said quietly. "We will see you at the trial, Mr. Sterling."
Julian buried his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Victoria stood panting, her face contorted in madness, realizing too late that she had just destroyed her own defense in front of four witnesses and a court reporter.
