Chapter 10 - The Last Heir
Dominic’s family had obsessed over heirs long before me.
Vance Construction was founded by his grandfather.
Then father.
Then Dominic.
Victoria treated company like monarchy.
But corporations are not bloodlines.
Shares do not care who carries surname.
Still, Victoria did.
After Dominic’s fertility diagnosis, she spiraled.
She called specialist.
He refused to discuss without Dominic.
She demanded second opinion.
Dominic got one.
Same conclusion.
Permanent natural infertility after surgical complications.
There were assisted reproductive possibilities in some cases, but specialists explained his chance of biological paternity with available material was effectively absent.
No dramatic certainty beyond medicine.
Then the lost pregnancy.
Victoria refused grief.
She chose blame.
She told Dominic:
“If Audrey had told you she was pregnant, none of this would have happened.”
How would that stop her shove?
Then:
“She probably knew and hid it.”
I did not.
Then:
“If she hadn’t threatened to leave, I wouldn’t have touched her.”
There.
Dominic recorded part of one argument on his phone because his lawyer advised preserving communications.
Victoria:
“She took your child away.”
Dominic:
“Mom, you pushed her.”
Victoria:
“She was leaving anyway.”
Dominic:
“That doesn’t matter.”
Victoria:
“She was going to take company.”
Dominic:
“It was already hers.”
Silence.
Then Victoria said:
“That little bitch planned this.”
Dominic:
“She invested two years ago.”
Victoria:
“She trapped us.”
He replied:
“She saved us.”
That was first time he said it aloud.
Then:
“Stop blaming her.”
Their relationship broke.
Victoria moved from mansion after property counsel enforced occupancy review following Dominic’s termination and protective order restrictions.
She was not thrown onto street.
She owned a luxury condo in Nashville.
She moved there.
Mansion remained empty except security and staff inventory pending corporate use decision.
Then criminal case.
Victoria was charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, plus obstruction/tampering-related allegations connected to efforts to suppress evidence.
Prosecutors did not charge homicide.
Pregnancy loss was a serious consequence but legal charging depended statutes and intent; fictional jurisdiction handled within assault enhancement.
Dominic faced obstruction-related charge for disabling camera? Disabling before assault not necessarily obstruction because he didn't know crime; but after, he instructed staff to say fall and helped conceal. He was charged with attempted evidence tampering/false statements. Paige faced lesser false-statement/access charges and cooperated.
Dominic’s lawyer negotiated.
He would plead to obstruction/false statement, cooperate truthfully against Victoria, and resolve company expense misconduct civilly.
Recommended sentence below Victoria.
He hesitated.
Not because innocence.
Because testifying against mother.
I understood complexity.
Then he asked me indirectly:
“Do you want me to testify?”
I told Sophia:
“Tell him that is his choice.”
No moral outsourcing.
He eventually chose.
Not for me.
Because Sarah had risked job to tell truth.
Because Paige had admitted.
Because video existed.
And because his mother still blamed Audrey.
Then one final company audit twist.
Victoria had been using Vance Foundation charitable account to fund personal social events.
Not huge enough to ruin company.
Approximately $310,000 over three years in questionable expenses.
Some gala costs legitimate.
Some personal.
An independent forensic audit separated.
Dominic had approved some without scrutiny.
Paige had helped submit some.
The foundation self-reported, corrected tax filings, repaid misallocated amounts from Victoria’s compensation/settlement.
No sensational “she stole millions.”
Real numbers.
Then auditors discovered another document.
A draft succession plan created by Victoria six months before gala.
It proposed:
Dominic as permanent chairman.
Future biological child as beneficiary of a family voting trust.
Audrey excluded from any governance role.
Paige named prospective “family communications representative” in one working draft.
May you like
They were planning a dynasty around a child that did not exist.
And the majority shares they intended to pass were never theirs.
