Chapter 6 - Blood And Paperwork
The legal war between Moretti Enterprises and Vance Logistics erupted within forty-eight hours.
Vincent did not file a discreet inquiry; he launched a full-scale thermonuclear legal assault. He filed an emergency paternity petition with the Cook County Family Court, demanding mandatory genetic testing for Leo Vance, coupled with an immediate injunction preventing the child from leaving the state of Illinois.
At the same time, Vincent leveraged his immense influence over the city’s port authorities to freeze two of Julian Vance’s largest cargo shipments, demanding an audience.
Three days later, Julian Vance walked into Vincent’s private boardroom on the fiftieth floor of the Moretti Tower. Julian looked immaculate, confident, and entirely unbothered by the commercial blockade.
""Sit down, Vance,"" Vincent said coldly from behind his desk, flanked by four senior family law attorneys.
Julian didn't sit. He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, hands in his pockets, gazing out over the Chicago skyline. ""You're making a colossal mistake, Vincent. You think money and court orders can undo the past?""
""Leo is my son,"" Vincent stated with absolute certainty. ""I don't care how many Swiss birth certificates you forged. The court will order a DNA test by Friday. When it proves he is a Moretti, I will sue for full legal custody. Anna abandoned her legal identity. In the eyes of the law, Vivienne Vance is an alias, and Anna Bennett faked her death. I can tie both of you up in federal fraud and custody battles until Leo is in college.""
Julian turned around, a dark, dangerous smirk playing across his features. ""You really haven't changed, have you? Arrogant. Coercive. Thinking you can bully reality into submission.""
Julian walked to the desk, pulled a thin document from his coat, and tossed it across the polished wood.
Vincent looked down. It was a formal pre-signed custody transfer and a medical power of attorney.
""What is this?"" Vincent frowned.
""Anna doesn't want your money, Vincent. And she certainly doesn't want your custody battles,"" Julian said, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp tone. ""Do you want to know the real reason she stayed hidden for three years? It wasn't just anger. It was terror.""
Vincent’s brow furrowed. ""Terror? Of what? I would have moved heaven and earth to protect her!""
""Would you?"" Julian leaned over the desk, his eyes burning into Vincent’s. ""The crash wasn't an accident, Vincent.""
The room seemed to drop ten degrees. Vincent’s attorneys exchanged uneasy glances.
""What did you say?"" Vincent whispered.
""The catastrophic decompression and engine fire on your jet?"" Julian continued. ""It wasn't mechanical failure. It was sabotage. Someone deliberately compromised the backup oxygen flow and placed an incendiary valve in the auxiliary tank. Whoever did it wanted Anna Bennett dead. They wanted her to die on that mountain so the Moretti family line would be severed, and someone else could take her place beside you.""
Vincent’s blood turned to ice. His mind flashed back to the day of the flight—the sudden, bizarre urgency with which Sophia had insisted on joining them. The way Sophia had known exactly where the emergency exits were. The way she had clutched his arm, begging to be taken out first...
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""Sophia,"" Vincent breathed, the horrifying realization settling into his gut like liquid lead.
""Anna figured it out while she was recovering in Switzerland,"" Julian said coldly. ""She realized that if she came back, she and her baby would never be safe in your world. As long as you were surrounded by snakes you couldn't see, her son was a target. So she let you think she was dead. She gave up her entire past life just to keep that boy breathing.""
