Chapter 8 - THE HOME VANCE COULD NOT BORROW AGAINST
Vance returned to the penthouse four days later with his attorney.
Sloan’s lawyer was present.
So was a building security supervisor in the outer hall.
No one wanted a repeat of the raised fist.
Vance looked around the living room as if seeing the apartment differently.
“You really sent the deed.”
Sloan stared at him.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You made me look like I lied to the bank.”
“Did you tell them I was supportive?”
Vance looked toward his attorney.
His attorney did not save him.
“Yes.”
“Was I?”
“I thought you would be.”
Sloan almost smiled.
“That sentence is our marriage.”
Vance’s face tightened.
“You always make me beg.”
“I loaned your family nine hundred thousand dollars.”
“With paperwork.”
Sloan stared at him.
“Yes, Vance. With paperwork.”
“My father would never have treated family that way.”
“Your father died leaving a company with audited financials and signed shareholder agreements.”
Vance went quiet.
Sloan continued.
“Your family only hates paperwork when it protects somebody other than you.”
The meeting shifted to housing.
Sloan wanted a formal separation.
Vance said he was not ready for divorce.
Sloan said nothing about divorce.
She requested exclusive use of the penthouse while they evaluated the marriage, citing the confrontation and his raised fist.
Vance did not consent immediately.
His attorney asked for a break.
When they returned, Vance agreed to remain at a furnished rental in SoHo for sixty days while the lawyers worked on a temporary arrangement.
It was not a court order.
It was not permanent.
It was enough for Sloan to breathe.
Before leaving, Vance looked at the damaged metal basin still sitting near the service pantry.
“Are you proud of what you did to Mom?”
Sloan stared at him.
“She ordered me to wash her feet.”
“You could have walked away.”
“So could you.”
That landed.
Vance looked down.
“I didn’t think Tinsley would swing at you.”
“Did you think your mother would humiliate me?”
Silence.
“Did you?”
Vance finally said:
“I thought if Mom felt respected, she’d calm down.”
Sloan’s chest tightened.
He had not wanted Sloan on her knees because he enjoyed it.
He wanted her there because sacrificing Sloan’s dignity was easier than confronting Jolene’s rage.
That did not make it better.
It made the pattern clearer.
Vance left.
The following morning Michael called.
“We found something in the prior bailout.”
Sloan closed her eyes.
“How bad?”
“Depends what Vance told you the nine hundred thousand was for.”
“Tax lien and working capital.”
Michael was silent.
May you like
“What?”
“Only about half went there.”
