Chapter 7 - THE HEARING GRANT EXPECTED TO WIN
The courtroom was closed to the public, but reporters filled the hallway.
Grant arrived carrying Theo’s favorite blue jacket.
It was a calculated gesture.
He held it where the cameras could see and told one reporter that his son had left it at home.
Seraphina arrived with Theo beside her.
When Grant saw them, he smiled.
Not warmly.
Victorially.
The security footage he submitted showed Seraphina entering a private club at eleven thirty on the night she was actually in Vermont. In the video, she appeared intoxicated and was helped into a vehicle by an unidentified man.
The image was convincing.
The woman had Seraphina’s height, hair, and coat.
Her face was visible for only a few seconds.
Mara presented travel records proving Seraphina had been in Vermont.
Grant’s attorney challenged them.
“The vehicle was registered to a Bellamy subsidiary controlled by Mrs. Vale’s allies. No independent witnesses can confirm she was inside it.”
Delaney could confirm it, but doing so would expose her cooperation before the gala.
Marcus could also testify, but Grant’s attorneys had prepared claims that he had misused company funds and manipulated Seraphina for personal gain.
The judge reviewed both sides.
Then Grant requested permission to speak directly.
“I do not want my wife punished,” he said. “I want her helped.”
Seraphina watched him perform concern with remarkable precision.
“She has surrounded herself with people who are encouraging her suspicions. She believes I forged documents, arranged secret business deals, and conspired against her father.”
“All of which is true,” Seraphina said.
The judge raised a hand.
Grant looked at her with carefully measured sadness.
“This is not the woman I married.”
“No,” Seraphina replied. “The woman you married believed you.”
The judge called Theo’s court-appointed counselor.
The counselor reported that Theo appeared secure with his mother and had expressed fear that his father would force him to lie.
Grant’s expression finally slipped.
“I have never told my son to lie.”
Theo looked directly at him.
“You told me to say Mom sleeps all day.”
Grant’s attorney immediately objected.
Theo continued.
“You said if I told the judge she was sick, we could live in the big house again.”
Seraphina closed her eyes for one second.
Grant had used their son.
The judge asked Theo whether anyone had instructed him to make that statement.
“No,” Theo said. “Daddy told me not to tell.”
Grant leaned toward his attorney and whispered urgently.
The judge denied his request for temporary custody.
She also expanded the protective order, limiting Grant’s contact with Theo until a full evaluation could be completed.
For the second time, Grant left a courtroom without the victory he expected.
In the hallway, his attorneys surrounded him.
Seraphina guided Theo toward the opposite exit.
Grant broke away from his team and approached her.
“You think this is a victory?”
“I think our son told the truth.”
“He is eight. He repeats what people place in his head.”
“He repeated what you placed there.”
Grant’s eyes moved toward Theo.
Seraphina stepped between them.
“Do not look at him like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like he is an obstacle.”
Grant lowered his voice.
“You have no idea what happens if the sale fails.”
“You lose money.”
“People more powerful than me lose money.”
“Northstar?”
Grant looked toward the cameras.
“Come home tonight. Bring Theo. I will cancel the custody action.”
“And the sale?”
“Some things cannot be canceled.”
“Then neither can what happens at the gala.”
For the first time, Grant looked genuinely uncertain.
“What are you planning?”
Seraphina smiled slightly.
“You told me I was too emotional to understand business.”
“Seraphina.”
“You will understand soon.”
She walked away.
That afternoon, Delaney returned to Grant’s penthouse office wearing a concealed recording device.
Grant was pacing near the windows.
Victor Hale stood beside the conference table.
“You disappeared for six hours,” Grant said.
“I was trying to recover the ledger,” Delaney replied.
“Did you?”
“No.”
Victor cursed.
Grant watched her closely.
“Did you speak to Seraphina?”
“She would not trust me.”
“Good.”
Delaney poured herself a glass of water.
“What happens if she appears at the gala?”
“She won’t.”
“She might.”
“Then security removes her.”
“What about Adrian?”
Victor glanced at Grant.
Grant’s answer came too quickly.
“Adrian will follow the agreement.”
“What agreement?”
Grant approached Delaney.
“The one that does not concern you.”
She forced herself not to step back.
“I have handled every public lie for you. I think I deserve to know what happens after the sale.”
“You receive what I promised.”
“A position?”
“Yes.”
“With Northstar?”
Grant touched her face.
“With me.”
Delaney almost believed him.
Then Victor’s phone rang.
He walked into the adjoining room to answer it.
Grant lowered his voice.
“After the gala, Victor will become a problem.”
Delaney stared at him.
“What kind of problem?”
“The kind that disappears.”
She understood.
Grant intended to betray Victor too.
“Does Victor know?”
“No.”
“And Adrian?”
“Adrian believes Northstar will recognize his family’s claim.”
“Will they?”
Grant smiled.
“There will be no Bellamy family claim after tomorrow night.”
The office door opened.
Victor returned.
“The final page has arrived,” he said.
He placed a protective case on the table.
Inside was an old document bearing three signatures.
Arthur Bellamy.
Helena Ward.
And a third name Delaney could not fully see.
Grant covered it with his hand.
Victor looked satisfied.
“With this, Northstar owns the original debt.”
“Which means?” Delaney asked.
Grant locked the case.
“Which means that when Seraphina claims the chairmanship, she also inherits a debt large enough to destroy Bellamy Holdings.”
Delaney’s recording device captured every word.
But as she turned to leave, Victor caught her wrist.
A thin wire was visible beneath her sleeve.
May you like
His eyes met hers.
“Grant,” he said, “she is recording us.”
