Chapter 10 - The Hearing
The courtroom had none of the drama of the ballroom.
No chandeliers.
No music.
Just fluorescent lights, wood benches, and a judge who looked unimpressed by wealthy people making their private disasters public.
Julian's lawyer went first.
Richard argued that I had concealed Northstar's true scale from my husband, used marital knowledge to target his employer, and potentially financed the acquisition with assets Julian had a claim to.
Then he introduced the fake Meridian guarantee.
My attorney, Rachel Kim, stood.
"Your Honor, we object to characterizing a forged document as evidence of ownership."
Richard smiled.
"Forgery is an allegation."
Rachel handed the judge a declaration from the bank.
"Not anymore. The institution listed on that document has confirmed no such guarantee was issued or accepted."
Richard's smile disappeared.
Then Rachel explained Northstar's structure.
My mother had created the Vance Family Trust nine years before I met Julian.
Northstar's founding equity came from that trust and outside investors.
Julian owned none of it.
He had never contributed capital.
He had never served as officer, director, or employee.
He had signed a prenuptial agreement acknowledging the trust as separate property.
Richard turned toward Julian.
Julian looked as though he had forgotten the prenup existed.
He had not forgotten.
He simply assumed I would never use it against him because I never used money as a weapon.
The judge asked one question.
"Mr. Mercer, did you sign this agreement with independent counsel?"
"Yes."
"Then why are we here?"
Richard recovered.
"Because the acquisition may still be tainted by misuse of confidential information."
Rachel nodded.
"Then let's address that too."
She played the full kitchen recording.
The part Camilla cut out filled the courtroom.
My own voice telling Julian not to share confidential information.
The judge looked at Richard.
"Anything else?"
There was.
The stolen Northstar schedule.
Richard tried to withdraw it.
Rachel did not let him.
She showed the watermark trace.
Camilla to Richard's office.
The judge's expression changed.
"Counsel, did you know this document came from an unauthorized source?"
Richard looked furious.
"No."
I believed him.
Julian had not only been used by Camilla.
He had dragged his own lawyer into it.
The judge denied the restraining order.
My voting control remained intact.
But outside the courthouse, reporters were waiting.
Camilla had made sure of that.
Microphones appeared before I reached the steps.
"Ms. Vance, did you target Aurelia to punish your husband?"
"Were you secretly planning the takeover during your marriage?"
"Is Northstar under federal investigation?"
I stopped.
My lawyers whispered not to speak.
I did anyway.
"Northstar bought Aurelia because the company has real technology, real employees, and a solvable financial problem. My marriage did not create Aurelia's debt, its fake vendors, or its hidden payments."
A reporter shouted.
"Did your husband know you were Northstar's founder?"
I looked toward Julian behind me.
"He knew my name. He never bothered to learn the rest."
Then I walked away.
By afternoon, the market had stabilized slightly.
At 3:30, Priya called from Aurelia's offsite data center.
"We found the source of the Lighthouse deletion request."
"Julian's phone."
"Yes, but there's more."
"What?"
"His phone sent a second instruction five minutes later."
"To who?"
"The data-center administrator."
My pulse quickened.
"What did it say?"
Priya read it aloud.
"If Nora gets the ledger, wipe the server before Reed can stop you."
I closed my eyes.
Julian had spent twenty-four hours insisting Camilla acted alone.
May you like
Now his own device had ordered evidence destroyed.
