Chapter 10 - The 8:30 a.m. Docket
Eleanor didn't flinch when she saw me, nor did she show a shred of surprise at the sight of Audrey standing beside me looking like a frightened ghost. Instead, a slow, predatory smile touched the corners of her painted lips.
“Well, well,” Eleanor purred, stepping forward as the court bailiff called out the morning session. “Look what crawled out of the trenches. Tell me, Lucas, did you really think your little midnight raids and theatrical police escorts would stop the wheels of real justice?”
I didn't break stride. I walked right up to her, stopping inches away so she could see the cold, unblinking fury burning in my eyes.
“You’re finished, Eleanor,” I said, my voice low and steady, carrying the quiet deadliness of a loaded weapon. “The game is over.”
Eleanor let out a soft, dismissive laugh, adjusting the diamond brooch pinned to her lapel. “My dear boy, you are playing checkers in a courtroom built for chess. Judge Sterling has known me for thirty years. He regards your wife as an unfit, unstable interloper, and by 9:00 a.m., he will sign the emergency guardianship order transferring full legal custody of that infant directly to me.”
She patted my arm patronizingly, then turned toward the open doors of Courtroom 302.
“Come along, darling. Let’s not keep the judge waiting.”
As Eleanor swept past us into the courtroom like a queen taking her throne, Naomi Price stepped up beside me, pulling the thick manila envelope out from Harris’s tactical vest. She unclipped the seal, letting the original parchment codicil slide slightly into view.
“Let her have her opening statement,” Naomi whispered, a dangerous smile touching her lips. “It’ll make the judge’s reaction when we present Grandfather’s signature that much sweeter.”
We walked into the courtroom together, sitting down at the plaintiff’s table right as Judge Sterling seated himself behind the high mahogany bench, adjusting his glasses and scanning the morning docket with a bored, tired expression.
“Case number 2026-CV-8849,” Judge Sterling announced, his voice echoing through the quiet, wood-paneled room. “In re: Guardianship and Estate Administration of Erikson. Mrs. Hayes, you may proceed with your petition.”
Eleanor stood up at the defense table, smoothing her skirt with practiced elegance, and began to speak with honeyed, deceptive grief.
“Your Honor, it is with a heavy and heartbroken heart that I stand before this court today to protect my late husband’s legacy and rescue my innocent grandson from an environment of severe domestic instability and psychological neglect—”
Before she could finish her rehearsed opening, Naomi stood up, clearing her throat with sharp, deliberate clarity.
“Objection, Your Honor,” Naomi said, her voice cutting cleanly across the courtroom. “Before counsel completes her fiction, the petitioner begs leave of the court to submit newly discovered physical evidence under Rule 60(b)—specifically, the original, unredacted master trust codicil signed, sealed, and notarized by Arthur Erikson himself, proving conclusively that the respondent has no legal standing, no estate authority, and no custodial rights whatsoever.”
May you like
The courtroom went dead silent.
Eleanor’s mouth opened slightly, the practiced grief instantly vanishing from her face, replaced by a sudden, stark flash of sheer, unadulterated terror as Judge Sterling’s hand froze over his gavel.
