Chapter 7 - Madison’s Flight
While Grant sat paralyzed in police custody, Madison Vance was frantically packing three Louis Vuitton duffel bags in her luxury penthouse. Diamond necklaces, emerald bracelets, gold watches, and stacks of banded hundred-dollar bills from her hidden safe were shoved indiscriminately between designer silk dresses.
Her phone rang continuously, but she had long since put it on silent. Her father had formally disowned her in a live press release thirty minutes ago, announcing that the Vance family had severed all ties with Madison and was cooperating fully with federal prosecutors.
"Self-righteous old hypocrite," Madison spat, zipping up the final bag.
She had already booked a chartered Gulfstream under a shell company’s name, scheduled to depart from Van Nuys Airport to Dubai in forty-five minutes. Dubai had no extradition treaty for white-collar financial crimes. With the seven million dollars in cash and bearer bonds she had skimmed from Grant’s accounts over the past year, she could live like a queen.
She dragged the bags toward the private elevator and pressed the down button.
The doors slid open.
Madison stepped in, only to freeze in pure terror.
Standing inside the elevator were three men in tailored black suits, flanked by two armed United States Customs and Border Protection agents. Standing in the center was Maya Bennett, holding a sleek tablet.
"Going somewhere, Madison?" Maya asked with a cold, mocking smile.
"Get out of my way!" Madison shrieked, clutching her bags. "You have no right to touch me! Do you know who my father is?"
"Your father just signed an agreement transferring all your family trusts to an escrow account to settle Claire’s civil damages," Maya said calmly, stepping forward. "And as for your little flight to Dubai... the FAA grounded your private charter ten minutes ago."
The federal agents stepped past Maya, snapping heavy handcuffs onto Madison’s slender wrists. Madison screamed, thrashing against them as her designer bags dropped to the floor, spilling emeralds, diamonds, and stacks of cash across the elevator carpet.
"You're under arrest for conspiracy to commit grand larceny, interstate wire fraud, and accessory to aggravated assault," the agent announced coldly.
"Claire did this!" Madison screamed, her face contorting with rage, mascara running down her cheeks. "She’s a nobody! A pathetic, weak little breeder! Grant loved me! He never wanted that baby!"
Maya leaned down until her face was inches from Madison’s ear.
May you like
"Noah will inherit every single penny Grant and your father ever stole," Maya whispered softly. "And you will spend the next fifteen years making license plates in a federal penitentiary. Bon voyage, Madison."
***
