Chapter 6 - The Federal Ledger
The dull thud of Gabriel Albright’s body hitting the polished courtroom floor echoed sharply against the walls, breaking the frozen silence that had settled over the room.
Bianca scrambled away from him like he was a contagion, her designer heels clicking frantically against the tile as she backed into the defense table with a sharp gasp. “Don’t look at me! I didn't sign those checks! He did it all, he forced me!”
Judge Rosalind Barrett didn't even blink. She looked down from the dais at the unconscious man crumpled beside the table, her expression as hard and unyielding as granite.
“Bailiff,” the judge said, her voice cutting through Bianca’s hysterical whining. “Revive the defendant, cuff him, and secure him to the prisoner’s bench. We are not finished here.”
Before the deputies could cross the well of the court, Richard Vance stepped forward, his immaculate gray suit radiating an aura of cold, corporate sovereignty. He didn't look at Gabriel. Instead, his eyes locked onto the federal auditors standing behind him, then turned to meet the gaze of Judge Barrett.
“Your Honor,” Richard said, his deep, resonant voice carrying effortlessly across the room. “With the court’s permission, my team at Vance Financial Enterprises would like to present an immediate addendum to the asset freeze injunction. Gabriel Albright wasn't just skimming from my daughter's marital estate. He was using federal defense subcontracts funneled through shell corporations in Delaware to finance Miss Shepherd’s lifestyle and mask a multi-million-dollar corporate buyout.”
Judge Barrett adjusted her glasses, leaning forward. “Mr. Vance, this court has jurisdiction over domestic fraud and forgery, but federal defense subcontracts cross into a entirely different legal arena.”
“Which is precisely why the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s financial crimes division has already executed simultaneous search warrants on Albright Industries and its offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands,” one of the FBI senior auditors announced, stepping forward and placing a heavy, red-stamped manila folder on the clerk’s desk.
Penelope stood quietly beside her attorney, her hand resting over her eight-month pregnant stomach. The fierce, burning adrenaline that had sustained her through the shock of the trial was beginning to give way to a profound, bone-deep exhaustion, but beneath it all lay an unshakeable sense of vindication. She watched as Gabriel groaned, slowly regaining consciousness under the rough grip of the bailiff who hauled him upright and strapped him into a wooden chair with a pair of cold steel handcuffs.
Gabriel’s eyes fluttered open, bloodshot and wild. He stared around the courtroom as if he had woken up in a nightmare, his gaze finally landing on Penelope.
“Penelope...” he rasped, his voice cracked and pathetic. “Please... tell them it’s a misunderstanding. We can fix this. We have a baby coming—”
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“You lost the right to speak to my daughter, and to mention my grandchild, the moment you decided to treat her life and her family as collateral damage,” Richard Vance interrupted, stepping between Gabriel and Penelope like a protective wall of stone.
Before Gabriel could utter another syllable, the courtroom’s side door swung open again with a violent crash, and two local police detectives rushed in, holding a fresh stack of printed documents and a glowing laptop.
