Chapter 15 - Vivian Counterattacks
Vivian’s legal position was not nothing.
She had a bruised wrist from the moment one bodyguard stepped into her path and she stopped abruptly against another guest.
No one touched her intentionally.
Still, she claimed she had been unlawfully detained.
For approximately forty-five seconds, two security officers blocked the corridor.
Then I ordered them to move.
Could that support a civil claim?
Potentially.
Her lawyer included it in settlement discussions.
Good.
My source-bound action had consequences.
We ultimately resolved it without admitting liability as part of broader property and event disputes.
Modest.
No giant payout.
More damaging to Isabella was Vivian’s public narrative.
A friend of Vivian’s gave a columnist information.
Headline:
MYSTERY MAID MAY SEEK MORETTI MILLIONS AFTER GALA SCENE.
Isabella was furious.
Not because people called her maid.
She had been one.
Because:
seek.
She had not filed anything yet.
Then photographs appeared of Teresa entering Belladonna with the gun.
The article implied armed extortion.
False.
We released no counterattack dossier.
Dana said:
“Let evidence catch up.”
Painfully slow.
Teresa wanted to speak publicly.
Isabella said no.
Important.
“Mom, you kept my father secret for twenty-eight years. You don’t get to explain me to television now.”
Teresa accepted.
That was growth.
Vivian also told one trustee that Isabella’s claim might be:
“manufactured after access to Moretti family memorabilia.”
The trustee asked:
“Do you have evidence?”
“No.”
“Then don’t put that in writing again.”
Good.
Institutions can have spines.
Eventually the DNA report became part of sealed probate filings.
No need to publish.
The gossip cycle moved on.
Another celebrity divorced.
The world survived.
May you like
Isabella did too.
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