Chapter 7 - THE GUARDIANSHIP HEARING
Victoria wore cream.
Of course she did.
Soft.
Maternal.
Concerned.
I wore navy.
My cheek was still bruised.
Her lawyer called me emotionally unstable.
He mentioned the bathroom escape as evidence.
I almost laughed.
“You climbed out a second-story window?”
“Yes.”
“Into a storm?”
“Yes.”
“Then entered a stranger’s vehicle?”
“Yes.”
“Does that sound rational?”
I looked at the judge.
“It sounded more rational than staying locked in a bedroom with Lawrence Ambrose.”
Silence.
Victoria’s lawyer shifted.
He had not wanted that answer.
He asked whether I punched Ambrose.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He grabbed me.”
Victoria whispered loudly.
“Emily.”
The judge looked at her.
“Do not coach the witness.”
Daniel sat behind my attorney.
Still.
Watching.
Victoria testified next.
She cried beautifully.
She said she loved me.
She said grief had made me suspicious.
She said Daniel was manipulating me to seize Carter-Lane.
Then my attorney played the estate security recording.
Victoria’s voice.
Mr. Ambrose is waiting upstairs.
Mine.
I don’t want to go.
Victoria.
Stop embarrassing me.
Then the slap.
The recording ended.
Victoria’s face changed.
She had thought the camera system was disabled.
It was.
But the smart-home intercom had kept an audio cache.
The judge denied guardianship.
Then referred the matter to prosecutors.
Victoria left the courtroom without looking at me.
Outside, reporters surrounded us.
Someone threw a question.
“Emily, did your stepmother sell you?”
I froze.
Daniel moved in front of me.
“No questions.”
Victoria stopped at her car.
Turned.
And smiled.
That smile scared me.
Two hours later, Carter-Lane’s board announced an emergency vote.
Victoria planned to sell the company before my trust could assert control.
Buyer.
Lawrence Ambrose Holdings.
He was purchasing my father’s company while hiding outside the country.
Closing time.
May you like
Midnight.
