Chapter 10 - The Voice from the Past
"Furthermore, Your Honor," Sarah Lin continued, pressing the advantage, "the petitioner claims the child's father has permanently abandoned his obligations. We have reason to believe that Julian Sterling’s absence was neither voluntary nor unprovoked."
Sarah stepped aside and nodded toward the heavy double doors at the back of the courtroom.
The doors opened.
Walking down the center aisle, assisted by a wooden cane, was Julian Sterling. He was thinner than in Clara's photographs, his face pale from months of isolation, but his eyes were clear, bright, and filled with an incandescent fury. Behind him walked an investigator from the state attorney general's office.
Clara gasped, rising from her chair, her hand flying to her mouth. "Julian..."
Elena Sterling stood up so fast her leather chair screeched against the parquet floor. "Julian! What is this nonsense? You belong in the recovery clinic in Vermont!"
"I was never an addict, Mother," Julian said, his voice ringing through the chamber with absolute clarity. "You had me committed under a fraudulent medical proxy the moment I told you I was going to marry Clara and renounce the family trust."
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The courtroom erupted into pandemonium. Reporters surged forward; the bailiff’s gavel hammered incessantly against the bench. Judge Thornton stood up, his face thunderous.
"Silence!" Thornton bellowed. "One more outburst and I will clear this gallery and hold counsel in contempt! Mr. Sterling, approach the witness stand."
