Chapter 9 - The Bloodline Claim
While my public resurgence was victorious, the remnants of the Vance family were not going down without a vicious, dirty fight.
On Thursday afternoon, a summons arrived at the Thorne estate.
Eleanor Vance had somehow secured temporary medical furlough from prison due to an alleged cardiac condition, backed by an anonymous benefactor who had posted her massive ten-million-dollar bail.
Worse, she had hired Julian Cross—a notorious, bloodhound corporate lawyer famous for winning dirty family disputes—and filed an urgent civil injunction against me.
"What is this nonsense?" Arthur bellowed, slamming the legal notice onto the study desk. "Visitation rights? Shared custody petitions? Eleanor Vance is a convicted felon!"
Cassandra looked troubled. "Chairman, it's worse than that. Julian Cross submitted a forged paternity document and an alleged pre-birth contract, claiming that before Vivienne and Daniel married, Vivienne signed an agreement consenting to Vance family guardianship in exchange for living allowances."
"That document is a complete fabrication!" I said, my blood boiling. "I never signed anything of the sort!"
"We know that, Miss Vivienne," Cassandra replied. "But Julian Cross has filed an emergency motion for a court-mandated paternity review and an interim restraining order that would prevent Aurelia from leaving the state or being registered exclusively under the Thorne name."
"Who paid Eleanor's bail?" Arthur asked, his sharp eyes narrowing into slits. "The Vance accounts were frozen down to the last cent. Daniel is living on instant noodles. Who put up ten million dollars cash?"
Cassandra hesitated for a second. "The wire came through a Swiss shell corporation, sir. But our intelligence team traced the routing code. It originated from the Laurent Syndicate."
A cold stillness descended upon the room.
The Laurent Syndicate was Thorne Global’s fiercest international rival, an old European conglomerate that had been looking for a crack in Arthur’s armor for over a decade.
"They are using the Vances as disposable pawns," Arthur murmured, his jaw clenching. "They don't care about the baby. They want to tie Vivienne up in scandalous family court litigation, damage our stock price, and use custody rights as leverage to extort Thorne Global shares."
I looked down at Aurelia, who was sleeping in my arms, completely unaware of the vultures circling above her.
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A protective fire ignited deep in my chest.
"They think I am a vulnerable target because I’m a single mother?" I whispered, looking up at my father. "Let them bring their forged papers to court. I’m not running from them. I am going to destroy them so completely that the Laurents will regret ever hearing the name Vance."