Chapter 38 - The Reckoning at Palazzo di Giustizia
The historic marble halls of the Palazzo di Giustizia in Milan were crowded with reporters, paparazzi, and corporate lawyers when Francesca and Julian arrived at nine-thirty the following morning.
Flashbulbs detonated like miniature lightning strikes as they stepped through the metal detectors. Francesca walked with majestic grace, wearing an ivory tailored suit that radiated power, her hand firmly entwined with Julian's.
Waiting inside Courtroom 4 were Christian Rossi, his legal team, and a visibly nervous Jason and Nicole.
Christian sat with arrogant ease, sporting an impeccably tailored Brioni suit, his scarred temple tilted toward the bench. When he saw Julian and Francesca enter, his smile was smug and dismissive.
"Enjoy your last hour of freedom, brother," Christian whispered as they passed the defense table.
Julian didn't even grant him a glance.
At precisely ten o'clock, Judge Roberto Bellini entered the courtroom. The gavel fell with an echoing crack.
"We are here to hear the emergency petition filed by Mr. Christian Rossi regarding the legal guardianship of the minor child Aurelia Davenport-Rossi, and the concomitant freeze of voting trusts within Rossi Enterprises," Judge Bellini announced, peering over his spectacles. "Mr. Hetherington, present your preliminary evidence."
Hetherington rose, confident and polished. "Your Honor, we present certified DNA verification establishing my client as the biological father of Aurelia Davenport. We also submit the notarized statement of the Dowager Contessa Rossi, affirming that Count Julian obtained guardianship through fraudulent concealment."
"Thank you, Counsel," Judge Bellini nodded. "Defense?"
Francesca rose from her seat.
"Your Honor," Francesca spoke, her voice ringing clear and melodious across the wood-paneled room. "I request permission to address the court as co-guardian of Aurelia and executive director of Rossi Enterprises."
Judge Bellini frowned slightly, then nodded. "You have the floor, Signora Rossi."
"The petitioner, Christian Rossi, has presented a narrative of victimhood and parental devotion," Francesca began, pacing slowly before the bench. "He claims to have been a loving father robbed of his child. What he failed to mention to this court is the sworn deposition taken at two o'clock this morning from Dr. Heinrich Mueller, head of the Cantonal Psychiatric Institute of Zurich."
Jason Vance went completely white. Nicole reached frantically for her purse.
"Dr. Mueller has testified," Francesca continued with lethal precision, "that the Dowager Contessa was unlawfully removed from medical care under false pretenses by Mr. Jason Vance and Mrs. Nicole Vance. We also submit the Contessa's sworn affidavit, executed under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Prosecutor, confirming that her signature was obtained under severe psychological coercion."
Christian’s smirk vanished. He slammed his hand against the defense table. "Lies! She signed it freely!"
"Silence, Mr. Rossi!" Judge Bellini snapped, banging his gavel.
Francesca turned toward Christian, her eyes cutting like surgical steel. "Furthermore, regarding the petitioner's parental rights: we submit the sealed criminal records from the Crown Court of Southwark, London, dated five years ago. Christian Rossi was indicted for felony abandonment and reckless endangerment of Clara Davenport during her pregnancy. The only reason he escaped trial was because he staged his own disappearance."
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Francesca laid a thick dossier before the judge. "Christian Rossi did not come back to Milan for his daughter, Your Honor. He came back because Jason Vance promised him fifty million euros from an illicit stock manipulation scheme. And we have the wiretaps from the Swiss Federal Police to prove it."
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