Chapter 15 - The Unmasking
Armed with Veta's clinical journals, Kieran and Agent Miller launched an immediate scorched-earth counter-strike.
At 2:00 PM, Judge Gregory Miller held an emergency hearing in the United States District Court. Unlike the previous sessions, this room was empty of press, held under strict judicial seal to protect sensitive medical data.
Appearing on the high-definition video monitor mounted above the defense table was Beatrice Sterling, broadcasting from the paneled library of her chateau near Lake Geneva. She was draped in cashmere, her silver hair pulled into a severe, elegant chignon. Beside her sat two high-powered corporate litigators from Manhattan.
"Your Honor," Beatrice’s lead counsel drawled smoothly into his microphone, "this is a simple matter of protecting proprietary engineering patents. The defense has immense sympathy for the minor child’s condition, but proprietary algorithms cannot simply be appropriated without licensing—"
"Save the corporate platitudes for your shareholders, counsel," Judge Miller snapped, his bushy eyebrows drawn together in thunderous irritation. "I have read the preliminary motion. And more importantly, I have read the FBI forensic report submitted two hours ago."
Beatrice’s serene expression twitched, a tiny crack appearing in her polished veneer.
"Agent Miller," the judge continued, looking down from the bench, "inform the court of your findings regarding the Canadian national arrested at the border this morning."
Agent Miller stepped up to the podium, opening a manila folder. "At 6:30 AM, border patrol agents in Champlain, New York, detained one Jean-Paul Dubois. In his possession were proprietary signal-decryption tools containing the unique cryptographic keys registered to an IP address owned directly by the Sterling Family Trust in Zurich."
Beatrice took a slow, deliberate sip of water on the screen, though her fingers trembled slightly against the crystal glass.
"Furthermore," Agent Miller continued relentlessly, "Mr. Dubois carried a notarized consultancy retainer explicitly signed by Beatrice Sterling. The scope of work? 'Acquisition of biomechanical diagnostic architecture from private medical telemetry.'"
Kieran stood up, walking forward with Veta’s battered spiral notebook held high for the camera.
"Your Honor, this wasn't an IP dispute. This was corporate cyber-espionage directed against a minor child recovering from a violent hate crime committed by members of this very family. Furthermore, Veta Vance holds the provisional prior-art documentation for the respiratory rhythm equations, registered with the university hospital three full weeks before Beatrice Sterling’s shell company filed their fraudulent patent claim."
Judge Miller leaned forward, staring directly into the camera at Beatrice.
"Mrs. Sterling," Judge Miller said, his voice dropping into a register of icy, terrifying finality. "Not only is your emergency motion for an injunction denied with prejudice, but I am immediately referring this entire record to the Office of the United States Attorney for grand jury indictment on charges of witness tampering, cyber-stalking, and interstate conspiracy."
Beatrice’s lawyer desperately lunged for the microphone. "Your Honor, our client had no direct knowledge of the operative's specific tactics—"
"Silence!" the judge barked. "I am freezing every domestic asset tied to the Sterling Family Trust pending the conclusion of the criminal inquiry. And Mrs. Sterling? If your plane touches down in any nation with a mutual extradition treaty with the United States, you will be met at the tarmac in handcuffs."
The video feed abruptly cut out from the Zurich side. Beatrice had hung up.
In the courtroom, Sloan exhaled a breath she felt she had been holding for months. She wrapped her arms around Veta’s shoulders from behind the chair, burying her face in her daughter’s hair.
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"We beat her," Sloan whispered, tears hot against her cheeks. "We beat her in her own game."
"We beat her on paper, Mom," Veta said quietly, watching the blank screen where her aunt's face had just been. "Now let's go beat her in the gallery."
