Chapter 5 - The Courtroom ConfrontationThe federal courtroom in lower Manhattan was packed to absolute capacity on the morning of the arraignment, media outlets broadcasting the downfall of the tech prodigy across every major network. Wearing an orange jumpsuit that hung loosely on his frame, Julian Vance looked like a hollowed-out ghost of the arrogant man who had watched me drown from the Cabo dock.
I sat in the front row, wearing an uncompromising ivory wool coat, holding my sleeping infant son in a secure carrier against my chest while my father stood protectively behind my seat. When Julian caught sight of us, he broke away from his public defenders, taking two desperate steps toward the gallery railing before federal marshals slammed him back against the wooden defense table with heavy metal cuffs clinking sharply. "Genevieve! Please! Let me explain! Victoria manipulated me! We have a family!" Julian screamed, his voice cracking with sheer panic as the judge banged his gavel to restore order.
I didn't flinch, I didn't raise my voice, and I didn't grant him the satisfaction of a tear. I simply looked down at him with absolute, freezing indifference, reminding him quietly across the courtroom space that the toy he tried to throw away had just inherited his entire empire. The prosecutor stepped forward, presenting the unredacted medical reports from the Cabo hospital and the transcripts of his conversation with Victoria, sealing his fate before the jury was even seated.
