You Want My Grandma’s $8 BILLION Inheritance DREAM ON! SCUMBAG, Watch Your Empire COLLAPSE Overnight! Chapter 19
One month later.
The Supreme Court of New York. Civil Division.
I sat at the plaintiff’s table in a simple black skirt suit. Clean. Sharp.
Across from me sat Alexander Langford and Diane Langford at the defense table.
Sophia sat in the witness box.
The gallery was packed. Reporters. Langford Properties shareholders. People I knew. People I didn’t.
Alex had lost a lot of weight. His suit hung loosely on him, and the line of his jaw was so sharp it looked carved from stone.
When he looked at me, there was something complicated in his eyes.
Hated? Resentment? Regret?
I couldn’t tell.
I didn’t care to.
The judge read the claims into the record.
Three counts.
First: a declaration that no valid marriage had ever existed between the plaintiff and the defendant.
Second: Contract fraud through forged guarantee documents.
—
Third: intentional bodily harm through the administration of harmful substances, resulting in permanent damage to the plaintiff’s physical functions.
Julian rose to present our case.
One by one, he submitted every piece of evidence.
Marriage registration records.
The handwriting analysis of the forged guarantee documents.
Harbor Apothecary’s purchase records.
Dr. Finch’s forensic medical report.
Victor Langford’s written testimony.
The recording.
And Sophia’s witness statement.
Each piece landed like another nail hammered into a coffin.
Alex’s court-appointed attorney tried to challenge the recording, arguing that the method by which it had been obtained made it inadmissible.
The judge overruled the objection.
Then Sophia took the stand.
Her voice was flat as she recounted everything that had happened seven years ago.
How the medication had been prepared.
—
How the tonic had been delivered.
How the marriage certificate had been arranged.
When the twins were born.
Every word was a hammer blow echoing through the courtroom.
Someone in the gallery gasped.
Reporters typed furiously.
Diane sat at the defense table with a gray face and trembling lips. Several times she tried to stand and interrupt, only to be forced back into her seat by the bailiffs.
Alex didn’t say a single word.
Not once.
He just looked at me.
With the same eyes that had once told me he loved me.
I didn’t look away.
I stared right back.
The hearing lasted four hours.
In the end, the judge adjourned the proceedings and announced that the case would move into deliberation, with a ruling to be issued at a later date.
The moment we walked out of the courthouse, reporters swarmed us.
—
“Ms. Grant! What’s your reaction to today’s hearing?”
“Ms. Grant, regarding your relationship with Alex—”
I stopped.
I said only one sentence.
“The facts have already been presented in court. I trust the law.”
Then I got into Julian’s car and left.
Inside the car, Julian said, “For the criminal charges, the prosecution is recommending three to seven years for fraud and five to eight years for aggravated assault. With consecutive sentencing, Alex is probably looking at seven to twelve years. Diane could get four to eight.”
I looked out the window.
“And the bribery tied to the New York waterfront redevelopment project,” I said.
“If that gets added, tack on another three to five years.”
“Add it.”
Julian nodded.
“I’ll contact the prosecutors.”
The car moved through the streets of New York.
The sunlight was warm against my skin.
And for the first time in a long time, it felt like the darkness of those seven years was finally beginning to lift.