The heavy oak doors of the mansion trembled as Beatrice slammed her coffee cup onto the glass table. In her hand was the court injunction—a legally binding document freezing every single bank account, property asset, and corporate share associated with the Vance estate.
For the first time in five years, panic breached Beatrice’s icy exterior.
“Find Marcus Vance!” she barked into her phone, her voice echoing through the empty halls. “I don’t care how much it costs! Get this injunction thrown out before the press gets wind of it!”
But the legal net had already been cast. By 10:00 AM, both parties were summoned to the county courthouse for the emergency preliminary hearing regarding the stewardship of Maya’s father.
As Beatrice stepped out of her chauffeured sedan onto the courthouse steps, a cold drizzle began to fall. Standing at the top of the stone stairs, waiting beside her lawyer, was Maya. She wore a sharp black coat, her posture straight, looking down at Beatrice without a trace of the frightened girl who had left the mansion forty-eight hours ago.
Beatrice marched up the steps, her heels clicking loudly against the stone. She stopped inches away from Maya, her eyes blazing with suppressed fury.
“You think you’ve won, Maya?” Beatrice whispered, her voice dripping with venom so low that only Maya could hear. “You have no idea what dirty games I can play when I’m backed into a corner. You’ll end up with nothing.”
Maya didn’t flinch. She met Beatrice’s glare with a cold, unyielding stare that made Beatrice’s chest tighten.
“This isn’t about winning, Beatrice,” Maya replied calmly, her voice carrying absolute authority. “This is about justice for my mother. And this is just the beginning.”
The chapter ends as the courthouse doors swing open, signaling the start of a trial that will uncover every dark secret hidden within the family.
