Chapter 13 - The Courtroom
The custody hearing lasted three days.
Grant's attorneys attacked everything.
My finances.
My emotional state.
My parenting.
They suggested I was vindictive.
They suggested I had manipulated the evidence.
Then our team presented the timeline.
The custody petition had been drafted six weeks before the hotel incident.
The financial records proved Grant had moved money from accounts connected to his company.
The recordings proved he had discussed obtaining custody before the affair became public.
The security footage proved he had known about the attempted intrusion at the mountain property.
Then Vanessa testified.
Grant watched her from across the courtroom.
She never looked at him.
She described everything.
The hotel meeting had been planned.
The humiliation had been intentional.
The cash had been part of the performance.
Grant wanted witnesses.
He wanted me to react.
Then he wanted to use my reaction against me.
The courtroom became silent.
The judge asked Vanessa one final question.
“Did Mr. Mercer intend to gain control of the Bluebird trust through custody of the child?”
Vanessa answered,
“Yes.”
Grant lowered his head.
The judge ruled that I would retain sole temporary custody.
Then the financial investigation moved forward.
For the first time in months, I breathed.
But the case was not over.
Richard Vale still knew where the bodies were buried.
And he had one final weapon.
He claimed Bluebird itself was invalid.
If he could prove that, everything could collapse.
The next hearing would determine the fate of the Kingsley empire.
May you like
And my daughter's future.
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