Chapter 6 - The Corrupt Court
The horrifying reality that my parents had legally declared me dead hit me like a physical punch to the chest.
I climbed down from the loft from the outside and left the fixers safely trapped in the steel pen.
Suddenly, the blinding lights of three heavily armored federal vehicles illuminated the dark pasture.
David had suspected a communications blackout and called in a favor with the United States Marshals Service.
The armed marshals breached the property, arrested the trapped fixers, and escorted a screaming Chloe off the ranch in handcuffs.
David met me on the front porch, holding a thick briefcase filled with emergency legal documents.
He confirmed the terrifying truth about the fake death certificate and the massive oil conglomerate.
My parents had orchestrated this entire scheme because the land sat on one of the largest untapped oil reserves in the state.
We drove straight to the county courthouse the next morning to file an emergency injunction and prove I was very much alive.
We walked confidently into the courtroom, expecting an easy victory against such a blatant, sloppy fraud.
My parents were sitting at the defense table, whispering closely with a high-priced corporate lawyer.
The judge walked in, and I immediately recognized him as a frequent guest at the oil conglomerate's charity galas.
David presented my physical identification, my fingerprints, and my active military records to prove my identity.
The corrupt judge barely glanced at the overwhelming evidence before slamming his wooden gavel on the desk.
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He declared that the evidence was insufficient and ruled that I was an imposter trying to steal a dead woman's estate.
He then signed an immediate, irreversible eviction notice, ordering the marshals to remove me from my own ranch within twenty-four hours.
