Chapter 5: The Retaliation
Chapter 5: The Retaliation
Daniel was right to be afraid. Margaret didn't go back to her apartment. Instead, she drove straight to the office of a high-profile, notoriously ruthless family lawyer named Victor Vance—who also happened to be Julian Vance’s legitimate nephew, a man who hated Daniel's very existence.
Victor Vance sat behind his mahogany desk, looking at the disheveled Margaret with utter disdain. "Why are you here, Margaret? The agreement was clear. You stay away from the Vance family, and the trust pays out. My uncle is dead, and your son is of age. Our legal ties are severed."
"They aren't severed," Margaret said, leaning over his desk, her voice dripping with venom. "Daniel has discovered the trust. He’s planning to claim the 4.2 million dollars. And he’s aligned himself with a woman who will spend every dime of it."
Victor’s interest was instantly piqued. The Vance family had tried for years to find a loophole to dissolve that trust and reclaim the money for their own corporation. "What are you proposing?"
"I want custody of my granddaughter, Sophie," Margaret said coldly. "And I want Daniel declared mentally incompetent due to the psychological trauma of discovering his true lineage. If he is incompetent, I remain his legal guardian and the conservator of the trust. I will split the 4.2 million with you, fifty-fifty, if you use your legal connections to make it happen."
Victor smiled—a slow, sinister smirk. "An incompetence hearing? Against a man who just filed a police report against you for domestic assault? That’s an uphill battle, Margaret."
"I have documentation," Margaret lied smoothly. "Medical records from his childhood showing behavioral issues. I can paint a picture of a unstable, aggressive son who attacked me last night, causing his wife to fall, and now they are conspiring to frame me to steal my life savings."
Victor tapped his pen on the desk. "If we play the media angle... 'Secret Billionaire Heir Attacks Elderly Mother Over Inheritance'... we can ruin his reputation before he ever steps foot in a courtroom. A judge will have no choice but to freeze the funds and grant a temporary guardianship until an investigation is complete."
"Do it," Margaret commanded.
Two days later, Daniel and Emma were waking up to Sophie’s giggles, a rare moment of peace in their fortified home, when a sharp knock sounded at the door.
Daniel checked the security camera. It was a process server.
When Daniel opened the door, he was handed a thick packet of legal documents. His eyes scanned the front page, and his heart stopped.
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Emergency Petition for Child Custody and Temporary Conservatorship. Plaintiff: Margaret Hayes. Defendent: Daniel Hayes and Emma Hayes.
Attached to the lawsuit was a leaked, heavily twisted media article headline: Tragedy of the Vance Fortune: Secret Son Attacks Mother in Fit of Greed.
