Chapter 6 - The Seven Million Dollar Secret Policy
The horror deepened with every word Detective Jenkins spoke.
"Julian was being blackmailed," I murmured, recalling the frantic screams he made through the broken laundry door. "He screamed that they owed eight million dollars to dangerous people."
"He wasn't lying about the debt, but he lied about who owed it," Jenkins replied, opening a second tab in the file. "Julian Vance wasn't the victim. He and Victoria were running an elaborate high-yield Ponzi scheme targeting elderly retirees across Illinois and Indiana. Julian had embezzled over nine million dollars from his own investment firm. When federal auditors announced an unannounced audit scheduled for this coming Monday, they knew prison was inevitable."
"So they decided to fake Chloe's death, collect the offshore insurance money, pay off the black-market lenders who laundered their cash, and vanish into Europe under fake identities," I concluded, the disgust burning in my throat like bile.
"And they couldn't just leave Chloe behind with you," Jenkins said softly. "Because an alive child would allow federal investigators to track them. And taking her with them on fake passports through European customs posed too high of an identification risk. Victoria Vance convinced your son that the only 'clean' solution was to stage a tragic death, conduct a swift closed-casket funeral, burn the casket at a corrupt private crematorium, and disappear forever."
"Where is Victoria now?" I demanded, my hands balling into fists.
"In custody at Cook County Central Booking," Jenkins stated. "Julian is being treated for chemical conjunctivitis from the detergent you threw in his face, under twenty-four-hour police guard. But we have a critical problem, Evelyn."
"What problem?"
"The doctor who signed Chloe's fake death certificate—Dr. Arthur Sterling—has vanished. And Victoria’s high-priced legal team has already filed an emergency injunction."
I stared at her, dumbfounded. "An injunction for what?!"
"Victoria’s defense attorney is claiming that you, Evelyn, suffered a severe psychotic break, abducted Chloe from a private hospice care suite in the home, and that Julian and Victoria were merely providing palliative end-of-life care for a terminal condition. They are claiming you poisoned Chloe to frame them because of family inheritance disputes."
I let out a bitter, disbelieving laugh. "They have lawyers claiming that?! When Chloe was literally locked inside a casket with brass key restraints?!"
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"Carl, the driver of the SUV, refuses to talk. And the funeral home director is claiming he merely delivered a standard display casket and knows nothing about internal locks," Jenkins warned. "Victoria’s family has immense political connections in this county. Until we find Dr. Arthur Sterling and seize their encrypted communication servers, Victoria’s lawyers are pushing for emergency protective custody of Chloe."
I stood up, towering over the table despite my age. "Over my dead body. They will never lay a finger on that child again."
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