Chapter 3 - The Midnight Docket
The threat hanged in the air like poison gas.
"They're going to use the court system to steal her," I panicked, springing up from the sofa, my hands flying to my hair. "Veronica lied on official affidavits! Julian's father owns the family court judges! If they serve that warrant tomorrow, the police will have to enforce it!"
"Sit down, Maya," Sebastian commanded, his voice remaining terrifyingly level.
He didn't panic. Instead, he stood up, walked over to his desk, and opened an encrypted laptop. He dialed a short three-digit code on his satellite phone.
"Get me Arthur Pendelton," Sebastian told the receiver. "Wake him up. Tell him I need the entire senior litigation team at my penthouse in twenty minutes."
Thirty minutes later, the private elevator opened to reveal five men and women in impeccably tailored navy suits carrying leather briefcases. At their head was Arthur Pendelton—a legendary seventy-year-old former federal prosecutor who was widely regarded as the most formidable attorney in the Midwest.
"Sebastian," Arthur said, bowing his head slightly as he stepped into the living room. "What’s the emergency?"
Sebastian gestured toward me. "This is Maya Delgado and her daughter, Lily. Marcus Vance and his son Julian are attempting to execute an illegal, fraudulent emergency custody seizure at 9:00 AM tomorrow using falsified statements from a terminated employee."
Arthur’s sharp eyes narrowed behind his wire-rimmed glasses. He sat down at the dining table, opening his laptop while his associate attorneys began scanning copies of my employment records, Lily's birth certificate, and the security camera footage from Calder House.
"The Vance Group has heavy influence in the 1st Municipal District," Arthur mused, tapping his pen against his chin. "Judge Harold Sterling is on Marcus Vance’s payroll. If Vance files the emergency petition in Sterling’s court, Sterling will sign the transfer of custody before you even get a chance to present evidence."
"Then we don't let them file in Sterling's court," Sebastian said coldly, leaning over the table. "How do we bypass the municipal district?"
Arthur raised a single silver eyebrow. "There is only one way, Sebastian. Federal emergency jurisdiction. If we can prove that Julian Vance’s actions tonight constituted an interstate parental abduction attempt—or if there is an active federal investigation into the Vance Group's financial holdings—we can freeze all local family court proceedings under a Federal Injunction."
"Is there an active federal investigation into Vance?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Sebastian looked at Arthur, a slow, predatory smile touching his lips.
"There wasn't ten minutes ago," Sebastian said softly. "But three months ago, my intelligence team acquired financial audits showing the Vance Group laundered sixteen million dollars through shell companies in the Cayman Islands to bribe city building inspectors."
I gasped. "You had evidence of their crimes all along?"
"I keep files on every major developer in Chicago, Maya," Sebastian replied matter-of-factly. "Knowledge isn't just power in my line of work—it's survival."
He turned to Arthur. "Draft a federal whistleblower petition under the RICO statute. Name Marcus Vance and Julian Vance as primary targets. File it with Chief Federal Judge Elizabeth Thorne immediately. She’s on duty for night docket emergencies."
Arthur smiled—a razor-sharp expression. "Judge Thorne hates corrupt developers more than anyone in Illinois. If I file this at midnight, she will issue a Federal Protection Order covering Maya and Lily by 6:00 AM. Any local judge who tries to sign an arrest or custody warrant for Vance will be committing federal contempt of court."
"Do it," Sebastian ordered.
As Arthur and his team went to work at the dining table, their fingers flying across laptop keyboards, Sebastian walked over to where I was standing near the floor-to-ceiling glass window.
Outside, the storm raged, rain pounding against the glass pane.
"You look exhausted, Maya," Sebastian murmured, standing close behind me. I could feel the intense, radiant heat of his body warming my cold back.
"I can't sleep," I whispered, looking down at the storm-swept city below. "Every time I close my eyes, I see Julian carrying Lily down that dark service corridor. If she hadn't dropped her rattle... if she hadn't crawled to your door..."
"She did crawl to my door," Sebastian interrupted softly.
He reached out, his long, warm fingers gently catching my chin, turning my face toward his. His gray eyes burned with a dark, breathtaking intensity.
"Fate brought her to my door, Maya," Sebastian said, his thumb brushing over my trembling bottom lip with a tenderness that made my breath catch in my throat. "And fate brought you into my life. I won't let them hurt either of you. I swear it on my life."
For a long, electric second, neither of us moved. The rest of the world—the lawyers, the Vance family, the rain, the looming threat—seemed to fade into total insignificance. There was only Sebastian’s hand on my face, his heat, and the sudden, overwhelming realization that I was falling desperately in love with my billionaire boss.
May you like
Before anything more could be said, Arthur Pendelton cleared his throat loudly from the dining table.
"Sebastian," Arthur called out, looking up from his screen with a grave expression. "We have a problem. The Federal docket portal just flagged an incoming motion. Marcus Vance didn't wait for morning. He’s already at the 24th Police Precinct with Judge Sterling’s clerk right now."
