Chapter 10 - Gideon’s Family Tries to Intimidate Me
The trial was not without its ugly moments.
Outside the federal courthouse on the third day of proceedings, I was ambushed by Gideon’s parents, Arthur and Eleanor Vance Sr., along with his younger sister, Brenda. They had flown in from Florida, fueled by decades of enabling Gideon’s toxic behavior and blind to the reality of his crimes.
As Marcus and I walked toward our car during the lunch recess, Eleanor Sr. lunged toward me, her designer handbag swinging wildly.
“You vindictive witch!” Eleanor screamed, her face contorted with rage as courthouse reporters turned their cameras toward us. “You set my boy up! You ruined his career, you stole his money, and now you’re trying to put him in prison over a little discipline!”
Marcus immediately stepped in front of me, his towering six-foot-three frame completely blocking his mother.
“Step back, Eleanor,” Marcus said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy pitch.
“Marcus! How could you?” his mother shrieked. “He’s your brother! Blood is thicker than water! You’re helping this outsider destroy our family name!”
“Gideon destroyed our family name fifteen years ago when he stole grandfather’s retirement savings,” Marcus replied coldly, not giving an inch. “He locked an eight-year-old child in a dark house without food. If you take one more step toward Claire, I will have the federal marshals standing at that door arrest you for witness intimidation before you can take another breath.”
Arthur Sr., a frail, bitter man, tried to pull his wife back, his voice trembling. “Marcus… he’s going to get twenty years. You have to tell the prosecutor to drop the wire fraud charges.”
“He is going to get exactly what he deserves,” Marcus said, his eyes hard as flint. “And if you two had ever held him accountable for a single lie he told as a child, we wouldn't be standing on the steps of a federal courthouse today. Leave Claire alone, or I will personally file harassment charges against both of you.”
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Marcus guided me past the flashing cameras and into the car, slamming the door shut.
I sat in the passenger seat, my hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline, but inside, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm. The Vance family’s reign of manipulation was over. They had no power here. Truth had stripped them of every weapon they possessed.
