Chapter 5 - The Collapse of Vance ConstructionBy the following month, the tables had turned completely.
With all of Richard’s commercial projects frozen by the state, his firm faced massive daily penalties from investors. Bank loans were called in, and Vance Construction was forced into emergency receivership.
To pay for the environmental fines and avoid immediate jail time, Richard was forced to put his four-million-dollar lake estate up for emergency liquidation.
On a warm afternoon in late May, an auction team gathered on the front lawn of the Vance estate.
Valerie sat on a folding chair on her ruined, red-stained marble porch, wearing oversized sunglasses, weeping quietly into a silk handkerchief as bankers and prospective buyers milled around her lawn. Her luxury lifestyle had dissolved in less than eight weeks.
I stood on our humble wooden porch with Marcus Vance and Olivia. My late father’s estate had received a preliminary insurance settlement of three hundred thousand dollars from Vance Construction’s liability carrier for the destruction of my car and the damage to our gravel lane.
"The bank is setting the opening bid at seven hundred thousand just to clear the tax lien," Marcus whispered to me. "Because of the boundary encroachment and the ruined porch, no outside buyers are touching it."
"I'd like to make an opening offer," I said softly, holding the settlement check in my hand.
When the auctioneer called for opening bids, I raised my hand.
"Seven hundred thousand," I called out clearly.
Valerie pulled down her sunglasses, staring at me in absolute, wild disbelief. "You?! You can't buy my house! You live in a shack! You drive a piece of junk!"
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"Not anymore, Mrs. Vance," Marcus called back cheerfully. "Ms. Bennett just signed the final acquisition papers for the entire parcel. As of five minutes ago, her bank backed her purchase using the settlement equity your husband owed her."
Valerie collapsed back into her chair, clutching her chest as if she couldn't breathe.
