Chapter 30 - Secrets of the Old World
Forty-eight hours later, the doors to Judge Vance-Montgomery’s courtroom were sealed to the public.
Only the essential parties were permitted inside: Tyler, Marcus, myself holding Maeve, and on the opposite side, Baroness Helene Vanderberg, accompanied by her senior legal counsel.
Helene looked paler than usual, her composure fractured by the news that her hired operatives had failed on Interstate 87. Two warrants had already been issued for the men who fled into the woods, though Helene’s attorneys had spent the last two days desperately distancing their client from the incident, claiming it was an unrelated road-rage assault.
Judge Montgomery entered the courtroom from his private chambers. He did not sit immediately. He held a thick, sealed manila envelope stamped with the gold crest of the New York State Department of Health Forensic Genomics Bureau.
The silence in the room was so absolute you could hear the soft whir of the ventilation ducts.
"The court has received the certified genomic sequence analysis from the Albany state laboratory," Judge Montgomery said, his voice ringing with judicial finality. "The chain of custody was audited and verified by Deputy Marshal Harris. The seals remained unbroken."
He slit the envelope open with a brass letter opener and pulled out the single sheet of parchment.
He adjusted his reading glasses, his eyes scanning the numbers. For a terrifying three seconds, his face remained completely unreadable.
My heart felt as though it had stopped beating entirely. Tyler reached out, taking my cold hand in his, squeezing it with enough force to bruise.
"Regarding paternity test specimen DOJ-8841-A and DOJ-8841-B," the judge read aloud. "The probability of paternity between Tyler James Mercer and the infant female Maeve Mercer is determined to be 99.9998 percent. Tyler Mercer is, beyond any scientific or legal doubt, the biological father of Maeve Mercer."
A choked sob tore from my throat. I pressed my forehead against Maeve’s soft cheek, hot tears of relief spilling over my eyelashes. Tyler exhaled a breath he seemed to have been holding for months, his broad shoulders dropping as the crushing weight of their accusations evaporated.
"Your Honor!" Sterling Croft stood up immediately, his voice desperate. "Even if paternity is established, our claim of lineage fraud remains! Julian Vanderberg was—"
"Sit down, Mr. Croft!" Judge Montgomery commanded, his voice booming like thunder. "Because the second part of this report is what concerns this court most."
Helene Vanderberg stiffened in her leather chair, her fingers tightening around her walking cane until her knuckles went pale.
"The laboratory, in accordance with the international rogatory protocol, ran a secondary familial comparison against the registered Vanderberg genomic baseline provided by the Swiss authorities," the judge continued, looking directly at Helene. "Mr. Tyler Mercer's DNA matches the late Julian Vanderberg at a ninety-nine point nine percent confidence interval for direct paternal lineage. He is Julian’s legitimate, undisputed biological son."
Helene’s jaw twitched. "That is impossible. Denise Mercer was a common secretary—"
"The science does not lie, Baroness," Judge Montgomery cut her off ruthlessly. "And more importantly, the forensic report includes the genealogical codicil filed with the Zurich court in 1998. Under Julian Vanderberg’s primary irrevocable trust, the moment direct male lineage is proven through legitimate issue, the sole executorship and ninety percent of the trust’s voting capital automatically revert from the collateral branch... to Tyler Mercer."
The entire courtroom seemed to tilt on its axis.
Tyler blinked, stunned. "What did you say?"
"You are not the debtor, Mr. Mercer," Judge Montgomery said, a grim, satisfied smile touching the corners of his mouth. "You are the primary owner. Baroness Vanderberg is not the creditor. She is an unauthorized trustee who has spent the last ten years illegally drawing down from an estate that belonged to you from the moment you turned twenty-one."
Helene rose slowly from her seat, her face transformed by sheer, venomous rage. "This court has no jurisdiction over European equity! I will appeal this to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland!"
"You may appeal whatever you wish, Baroness," Judge Montgomery replied coldly. "From a federal detention cell. Based on the fraudulent affidavits submitted to this court and the ongoing investigation into the vehicular assault on Deputy Marshal Harris, I am ordering federal marshals to take Baroness Helene Vanderberg into immediate custody pending grand jury indictment for international wire fraud, attempted kidnapping, and obstruction of justice."
Two armed marshals stepped forward from the back of the courtroom, handcuffs already drawn.
May you like
As the cold steel clicked around Helene’s wrists, she looked at Tyler, her eyes burning with pure hatred. "You think you've won, Tyler? You have no idea what Julian buried in Zurich. You have no idea what is coming for your daughter."
***
