Chapter 7 - The Checkmate
The official custody and corporate hearing took place two weeks later in a closed federal courtroom.
Victor sat at the plaintiff's table, looking supremely confident. He had brought a team of high-priced litigators. I sat at the defense table with Marcus. Lily was safe at home, guarded by a detail that rivaled the Secret Service.
Victor’s lawyer painted a picture of me as a cold, heartless corporate machine, unfit to raise a traumatized child. He argued that Victor, a "family man" with three grown children, was the logical choice for conservatorship.
When it was my turn to speak, I didn't defend my parenting. I just handed the judge a thick, black binder.
"Your Honor," I said calmly. "Victor Vance is entirely correct. A child's assets must be protected. Which is why they cannot be handed over to a man currently under investigation by the FBI for wire fraud, embezzlement, and racketeering."
Victor bolted upright in his chair. "Objection! This is slander!"
"It's a verified federal indictment, filed this morning," I replied, turning to look at Victor with eyes as cold as absolute zero.
My private investigators hadn't just found skeletons; they had found a graveyard. Victor had been siphoning millions from the company's pension funds into shell companies in the Caymans. I had handed the entire dossier over to the feds.
The judge read the first two pages of the binder, his face turning hard. He banged his gavel.
"Petition for conservatorship is denied," the judge barked. "Mr. Vance, I suggest you retain a criminal defense attorney immediately."
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As Victor was escorted out of the courtroom, completely ruined, he glared at me. "You destroyed the company's reputation to save her!"
"I destroyed you," I corrected him. "And I'd do it a thousand times over."
