Chapter 13 - The Deposition: Confessions Under Oath
The trial of Jessica Vance and Mark Vance became the most high-profile legal proceeding of the decade.
During the final pre-trial deposition, the Vance family’s united front collapsed completely. Faced with the prospect of twenty-five years in a federal penitentiary for corporate fraud and conspiracy, Alice Vance made a deal with the prosecution to turn state’s witness against her own husband and daughter.
Sitting across the deposition table in a plain gray prison jumpsuit, stripped of her jewelry, makeup, and pride, Alice broke down under oath.
"Mark orchestrated the payoffs," Alice testified, her voice cracking into the microphone. "He contacted the fire marshal, he transferred the money to Julian’s mother, and he forced Kristen to sign the silence agreements. And Jessica... Jessica knew what she was doing. She laughed about it. She told us Kristen was too weak to ever fight back."
May you like
Jessica, sitting at the defense table next to her court-appointed public defender—having run out of money to pay for private attorneys—lunged across the table toward Alice, screaming obscenities until four bailiffs tackled her to the floor and restrained her.
The deposition sealed their fate. There would be no plea bargain. There would be no escape.
