Chapter 3 - The Counter-Strike
Richard Vance’s face went pale as his older brother walked into the room, holding a heavy leather briefcase.
"Marcus?" Richard stammered, adjusting his silk tie nervously. "What are you doing here?"
"I’m representing Naomi and Lily," Marcus said coldly, stepping past his younger brother as if he were invisible. "When Dr. Aris called me two hours ago and showed me the medical scans of a nine-year-old girl’s broken leg, I offered my services pro bono."
Marcus turned his sharp blue eyes onto my parents.
"Mr. and Mrs. Sterling," Marcus said, pulling a tablet from his briefcase. "You mentioned your three million dollars in liquid assets. That’s fascinating, considering your daughter Carla’s recorded confession at the police station just twenty minutes ago."
My mother choked on her breath. "Confession? She didn't confess!"
"She did," Marcus smiled thinly. "The moment the police told her she was facing five to eight years in state prison for first-degree felony child abuse, she panicked. She gave a full audio recording admitting that she struck Lily in a fit of rage because Lily refused to hand over her phone. She also admitted that you, Mrs. Sterling, instructed her to wash the blood off the skewer before the police arrived."
My father took a step back, his arrogant posture deflating like a punctured balloon. "That... that’s obstruction of justice."
"It’s tampering with physical evidence in a felony case," Marcus corrected sharply. "Which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years. The District Attorney is currently drafting the indictment warrants for both of you as accomplices after the fact."
My mother grabbed her lawyer’s arm. "Richard! Do something!"
Richard looked at his older brother, then at my parents, and slowly closed his portfolio. "Frank, Evelyn... I suggest you leave this hospital immediately. If Marcus has Carla's confession and the evidence photos, any petition for grandparent visitation you file will be laughed out of court and punished with sanctions for bad-faith litigation."
"We're not leaving!" my mother shrieked, her voice cracking into madness. "She’s my granddaughter! I have rights!"
"You had the right to protect her in your backyard," I said, stepping up to my mother until we were inches apart. "You chose Carla. You chose your precious reputation. Now, get out of my sight before the hospital security removes you in handcuffs."
Security guards, called by Dr. Aris minutes earlier, stepped into the corridor. My father grabbed my weeping mother by the arm and dragged her out of the room, while their lawyer hurried ahead of them without looking back.
When the room finally fell silent, Marcus turned to me.
May you like
"This was just the opening salvo, Naomi," Marcus warned gently. "They are desperate, and rich people with wounded pride are dangerous. They will try to destroy you financially before Carla’s trial begins."
"Let them try," I said, looking at Lily’s peaceful face as she slept. "I'm not running anymore."
