Chapter 7 - The Legal War Begins
ust as Patricia opened her mouth to scream at me, the front doors of the mansion were
pushed open. Two uniformed police officers walked in, followed by a tall, elegant woman in a
tailored navy blue suit. It was Clara Vance, the most ruthless, expensive divorce and estate attorney in
the state. She was also my godmother.
"Patricia Sterling," Clara said, her voice cutting through the room like a scalpel. "And Evan
Sterling. You are hereby served with a temporary restraining order, a petition for absolute divorce,
and a criminal complaint for grand theft, financial exploitation, and child endangerment."
"What?" Patricia shrieked, her face turning a mottled red. "This is outrageous! This is my son's
house! You cannot kick us out of our own home!"
"Actually, Patricia, we can," Clara replied, holding up a copy of the property deed. "This estate was
purchased entirely by the Maya Vance Generational Trust before the marriage. It is a non-marital
asset. Evan has zero legal claim to this property. And as of ten minutes ago, his access to all joint
accounts has been frozen."
Evan looked up from the floor, his eyes red and swollen. "Maya... please. We can talk about this. I
love you. I love Noah. Let me see him at the hospital."
"You will never see him again," I said, the coldness in my heart solidifying into a wall of pure
titanium. "I have already filed for sole legal and physical custody. The hospital has a security detail
outside Noah's room. If either of you comes within five hundred feet of my son, you will be arrested
immediately."
"You can't do this!" Patricia screamed, grabbing Evan's arm. "Evan, do something! You're a
lawyer!"
"He’s a junior associate at a firm that my family’s trust funds," I reminded her. "Or rather, he
*was*. I spoke to the senior partners this morning. They were deeply disturbed to hear that one of
their associates abandoned his dying newborn to go on a stolen credit-card vacation. You're fired,
Evan. Your legal career is over before it even began."
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