Chapter 8 - The Legal Ambush
Julian felt his jaw clench until his teeth ground against each other. "My wife is bleeding out on an operating table, and you bring me legal threats? Get out of my face before I kill you."
Arthur Vance did not flinch. He opened his briefcase with deliberate, practiced grace, pulling out an embossed court order bearing a judge's wet signature.
"This isn't a threat, Mr. Mercer. This is an immediate temporary custody restraining order issued by Judge Harrison twenty minutes ago," Arthur stated evenly. "Under Section 4-B of the Vance Family Trust, any biological offspring of David Vance, regardless of the gestational surrogate's marital status, is the immediate legal dependent of the surviving spouse—Sofia Vance."
"Emilia is not a surrogate!" Julian snarled, lunging forward and grabbing Arthur by the lapels of his expensive coat. "She is my wife! She carried this child! It's our child!"
Two security guards stationed at the end of the hall moved forward instantly, their hands resting on their utility belts. Arthur remained utterly calm, his eyes peering over his glasses into Julian’s feral gaze.
"Biologically, you have zero claim, Mr. Mercer," Arthur said, his voice lowering to a venomous whisper. "Furthermore, my client has filed sworn affidavits detailing your unauthorized use of stolen genetic property. If you fight this, you won't just lose the child. You will spend the next fifteen years in federal prison for genetic theft and wire fraud."
Julian’s grip slowly slackened. His hands dropped to his sides. The sheer, terrifying machinery of the Vance family wealth was moving against him, designed to grind him into dust before dawn.
"She planned this," Julian breathed, the horrifying realization finally crystallizing in his mind. "From the very day I begged her for help... she planned to take our baby."
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"She planned to secure what belongs to her family," Arthur corrected, adjusting his lapels. "The moment the child is stabilized, our private transport team will transfer the infant to a specialized neonatal facility upstate."
At that exact moment, the double doors of the OR flew open, and a doctor emerged, his surgical mask hanging around his neck, his gown splattered with dark red.
