Chapter 3 - The Wolves at the Door
Twenty-four hours after graduation, the media storm had officially made landfall. The video of the "Graduation Slap" had gone viral on three separate social media platforms, but the story didn't stop at family drama. Local news outlets had picked up my public declaration from the podium, and by that morning, the headlines had shifted from Family Feud at Graduation to Vance Holdings Investigated for Multi-Million Dollar Fraud and Identity Theft.
I was staying at Paige’s small, cramped studio apartment, the only place my parents didn't immediately have the address to. My phone had been ringing incessantly—unfamiliar numbers, reporters, and, predictably, dozens of frantic calls from my mother.
Around 2:00 PM, a knock sounded at the door. Paige grabbed a heavy wooden rolling pin from the kitchen counter before looking through the peephole.
"Audrey, it's Julian," she whispered, turning to me with her eyes wide. "He looks like a hot mess. The shiny suit is gone."
"Let him in," I said, sitting up on the small sofa. "He can't hurt anyone."
When Paige opened the door, Julian practically stumbled into the room. The golden boy of the Vance family looked completely unraveled. His hair was messy, his expensive leather jacket was wrinkled, and his hands were shaking so violently he could barely hold his phone.
"Audrey, you have to stop this," he burst out, not even greeting me. He walked straight toward me, his voice cracking with a mix of anger and desperate pleading. "They frozen everything! I went to use my black card this morning at the garage and it was declined. The landlord of the penthouse called me an hour ago saying the corporate lease has been flagged by the state marshal. I have forty-eight hours to clear out!"
"Good afternoon to you too, Julian," I said, my voice completely flat. "How does it feel to lose things you didn't earn?"
"You don't understand!" he yelled, pacing the small room just as Paige had done the day before, but for entirely different reasons. "Mom is losing her mind. Dad is out on bail, but his lawyers are saying the feds are stepping in because of the shell companies. They're saying they might lose the house in the Hamptons. They’re going to lose everything!"
"They aren't losing anything, Julian. They're just returning what they stole," I replied, leaning back against the cushions. "Including the four hundred and fifty thousand dollars in debt they pinned to my social security number. Do you know what it’s like to get a call from a collection agency while you're trying to study for a chemistry final? Do you know what it's like to wonder if your wages are going to be garnished because your own parents wanted to buy you a third luxury watch?"
Julian stopped pacing, his face twisting into a ugly, defensive sneer that looked exactly like our mother’s. "You always were a bitter little b***h, Audrey. Just because Dad gave me the business opportunities and realized you didn't have what it takes to run the family name—"
"Opportunities?" I cut him off, my voice dropping an octave, instantly freezing him in place. "You failed out of two colleges, Julian. You crashed a hundred-thousand-dollar car into a retaining wall and Dad paid a judge to make the ticket disappear. You didn't get opportunities; you got life support. And the machine just got unplugged."
"Audrey, please," he shifted instantly, the bravado draining out of him as the reality of his situation crashed back down. He dropped to his knees in front of the sofa, looking at me with wide, pathetic eyes. "Talk to the detective. Tell them it was a misunderstanding. Tell them you authorized the accounts. If you don't, I don't have anywhere to go. I don't have a job, Audrey! I don't have any money!"
"Then I suggest you do what I did," I said, leaning forward until I was inches from his face, letting him see the faint bruise still forming on my jawline. "Find a diner. Ask for the 5:00 AM shift. And start learning what a dollar actually costs. Get out of here, Julian."
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Paige stepped forward, the rolling pin held prominently against her palm. "You heard her. March."
Julian stood up slowly, looking at me with a dangerous amount of hatred before turning and slamming the door behind him. When he was gone, the room felt lighter, but I knew the heaviest blow had yet to fall. The grand architects of this nightmare hadn't come to face me yet.
