Chapter 10 - The Custody Petition
The silence in the library the next morning was absolute. Julian sat at the head of the reading table, Sarah’s journal open in front of him. He had read the entries three times. With every page turning, the man I knew—the patient, grieving father who tried so hard to be gentle—receded, replaced by a cold, terrifying predator who had just realized who hunted his family.
Marcus Holloway sat across from him, reading photocopies of the journal pages.
“This changes everything,” Marcus said, tapping the paper with his silver pen. “Victoria’s custody petition isn't a grandmother's concern; it’s the final phase of a five-year corporate conspiracy to seize control of the Vance voting blocks by securing guardianship of the heirs. We can take this to the district attorney. We can file charges for fraudulent legal filing and extortion.”
“No,” Julian said. His voice was dangerously quiet. “Not yet.”
He looked up from the journal, his eyes locking onto mine. “Victoria came here yesterday, didn't she? The security logs showed her vehicle at the gates at two in the afternoon.”
I swallowed hard, nodding. I walked over to the side table, picked up the manila folder Victoria had left behind, and laid it beside Sarah’s journal.
“She brought this,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “It’s my background check. From Chicago. The restraining order against my ex, the kitchen fire... everything. She told me that if I didn't leave Seattle by Friday, she would submit this into evidence to prove you brought a violent, unstable woman into the house, and she would destroy my life.”
Julian didn't open the folder. He didn't need to read the police reports to know what was inside. He simply reached out, took the thick manila envelope, and dropped it directly into the open flames of the library’s gas fireplace.
We watched the paper curl, blacken, and turn to ash.
“You aren't what happened to you five years ago, Elena,” Julian said, standing up and closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating from his body. He took both of my hands in his, his grip firm, unyielding, and completely protective. “You are the woman who walked into a sixty-floor restaurant, saw three broken little girls, and saved their lives. You are the woman who gave them back their voices.”
He turned back to Marcus, his eyes blazing with a fierce, tactical brilliance that reminded me exactly why he had built a global tech empire from scratch before he was thirty-five.
“Let Victoria file her emergency guardianship petition,” Julian ordered. “Let her schedule the open court hearing for Friday. Don't fight the injunction, Marcus. Agree to it.”
May you like
Marcus blinked in surprise. “Julian, if we agree to an open hearing, the press will be there. Victoria’s lawyers will try to slaughter you on the stand.”
“I want the press there,” Julian said coldly. “I want every news camera in Seattle focused on that courtroom when Beatrice takes the witness stand. Because Victoria thinks she’s walking into a custody hearing. We are going to turn it into a public execution.”
