Chapter 3 - The Motion to Impound
“Your Honor!” Gabriel’s attorney scrambled to his feet, sweating profusely under his collar. “This is hearsay! It’s unverified testimony from a minor child experiencing parental alienation—”
“Counsel,” Judge Barrett interrupted, standing up slowly and adjusting her glasses. Her eyes were hard as flint as she looked across the room at Gabriel and Bianca. “Your client’s six-year-old daughter just described the exact contents of an unrecorded financial conveyance and a hidden floor safe that is not a matter of public record. Unless Mr. Albright has psychic abilities, his daughter’s testimony establishes probable cause of fraud, forgery, and conspiracy.”
Bianca grabbed Gabriel’s arm, her voice rising in panic. “Gabriel, tell her it’s not true! Tell them we’re leaving—right now!”
“Shut up, Bianca,” Gabriel hissed, his face twisted in rage and terror as he realized the immaculate trap he had built was collapsing around him.
Judge Barrett turned to the bailiff. “Marshal, secure the courtroom doors. Nobody leaves. No cell phones, no communications out. Bailiff, dispatch two officers immediately to 442 Pinecrest Lane. Search the basement under the stairs. Locate the floor safe behind the laundry bins and impound every document inside.”
“Yes, Your Honor!” the bailiff barked, spinning on his heel and heading for the side exit with two deputies trailing behind him.
Penelope wiped her cheeks, the fog of exhaustion and heartbreak that had clouded her mind for months instantly burning away, replaced by the razor-sharp instincts of a woman who realized she had been played by an expert manipulator.
“You coward,” Penelope said, her voice cutting through the murmurs of the courtroom as she took a steady step toward the defense table. “You used my pregnancy, you used my love for this little girl, and you tried to rob me blind while pretending to be the victim of an unstable wife.”
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Gabriel glared at her, his composure completely shattered. “You brought this on yourself, Penelope! You were always too smart for your own good, poking around my office, asking questions about the corporate accounts—”
He stopped abruptly, realizing he had just confessed out loud in front of a judge, a courtroom full of witnesses, and an active court stenographer whose fingers were flying across her machine.
