Chapter 10 - The Battle for Leo
Z
The atmosphere on our porch turned to ice.
"You're not taking him anywhere," Cole said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, guttural growl as he stepped fully onto the threshold, towering over Victoria Sterling and blocking her view of Leo entirely. "Get off my porch."
"Don't be foolish, Mr. Reed," Victoria said smoothly, not flinching an inch against Cole's imposing presence. "You have no legal standing here. You are not the child's biological father, nor are you a legal relative. Sarah Miller is dead. You are currently harboring a child without legal custody papers finalized."
"We are in the process of legally adopting him!" I snapped, stepping up beside Cole, wrapping my hand around his arm to keep his rising temper in check. "Sarah gave us custody before she passed! She left a written request!"
Victoria let out a soft, condescending chuckle. "A handwritten note from a dying, impoverished woman suffering from terminal cancer carries zero weight against a court petition from the child's legitimate biological family. We have already filed emergency custody paperwork with the state supreme court. A judge signed the temporary custody order an hour ago."
She gestured to the broad-shouldered man standing behind her. He reached inside his heavy suit jacket and pulled out a blue-bound legal document, stepping forward to hand it to Cole.
Cole didn't take it. He stood like an iron wall, his chest heaving, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned stark white.
"Julian hated your family," Cole snarled, his eyes blazing with a dangerous, violent fire. "He ran away from your money when he was seventeen because you treated him like a piece of corporate property! He died trying to keep Sarah and Leo safe from you!"
"Julian was an unstable, rebellious young man who made tragic choices," Victoria responded without a flicker of emotion. "But his son will not grow up in a modest suburban home raised by a washed-up guitarist and a disgraced heiress who was disowned by her own father."
My breath caught in my throat. She knows about my father.
"We know everything about you, Mrs. Reed," Victoria said, turning her icy gaze on me. "We know your father cut you off three weeks ago. We know your husband's income is barely enough to cover this child's ongoing medical bills. You don't have the financial resources, the social standing, or the legal right to fight the Sterling family in court. If you fight us, we will drag this through trial for years until you are completely bankrupt."
She stepped closer, her tone lowering into a chilling, corporate threat.
"Hand the boy over now, peacefully, and we will compensate you for the medical expenses you paid for Sarah Miller. Refuse... and my security officer will call the local sheriff's department to execute this court order immediately. You will be arrested for interference with child custody."
Inside the hallway, Leo began to cry, terrified by the harsh tone of the adults. "Cole... Maya..." he whimpered, clutching his toy dinosaur tightly.
Hearing Leo's tears broke something inside me. All the fear, all the uncertainty, all the timidness that my parents had beaten into me over a lifetime vanished, replaced by an unbreakable, fierce maternal instinct.
I didn't care about their eighty million dollars. I didn't care about their high-priced lawyers or their court orders. Leo wasn't an heir to them; he was a line item on a corporate balance sheet, a trophy to be claimed. But to us, he was family.
I stepped in front of Cole, looking Victoria Sterling straight in the eye.
"Call the sheriff," I said, my voice dead calm, cold, and unwavering.
Victoria’s confident smile faltered slightly for the first time. "I beg your pardon?"
"Call the sheriff," I repeated, leaning in. "Bring the police. Bring the news cameras. Bring every reporter in this state. Because the moment a police officer attempts to drag a traumatized, three-year-old orphan out of the only loving home he has ever known, I will hold a press conference on our front lawn."
I took a step closer, matching her intimidating posture.
"I will tell the press that the Sterling Media Group abandoned their own son while he lived in poverty, allowed his mother to die without a single dime of support, and only showed up to claim the boy when an eighty-million-dollar inheritance was on the line. I will make sure the entire world knows what kind of monsters run your company."
Victoria's blue eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "You're bluffing. You don't have the stomach for a public scandal."
"Try me," I hissed. "My father tried to destroy me three weeks ago, and I walked away from his entire fortune without blinking. I have nothing left to lose, Victoria. But your media company? Your stock value? Your public reputation? You have everything to lose."
The silence on the porch stretched out, thick and suffocating. The snow continued to fall softly around us.
The broad-shouldered security man looked at Victoria, waiting for an order, his hand hovering near his jacket pocket. Victoria stared at me, searching my face for any sign of hesitation, any flicker of fear.
She found none.
Slowly, deliberately, Victoria raised her gloved hand, gesturing for her security officer to stand down.
"You are making a massive mistake, Mrs. Reed," Victoria said, her voice dropping into a venomous whisper. "This court order is valid. You have seventy-two hours before the formal custody hearing at the county courthouse. Enjoy your three days with the boy. Because when we meet in that courtroom, I will rip your life apart piece by piece."
She turned on her heel and marched down the snow-covered steps toward her black luxury SUV, her security officer following closely behind.
Cole immediately closed the door, slamming the deadbolt shut, and pulled me into his arms, squeezing me so tightly I could barely breathe.
"God, Maya..." he whispered into my hair, his body trembling violently. "You were incredible... you were so incredible..."
I leaned against his chest, listening to his pounding heart, then pulled back to look at him. He looked terrified, but beneath the fear, there was a fierce, unbreakable resolve in his eyes. We were no longer two people broken by our pasts; we were parents fighting for our child.
I reached down and picked up Leo, holding him tightly against my hip as he wiped his tears on my shoulder.
"We have seventy-two hours, Cole," I said, looking at my husband as a sharp, dangerous smile touched my lips. "We need a lawyer. A ruthless, vicious, terrifying lawyer who knows how to fight dirty."
Cole looked at me, a sudden realization dawning on his face. "Do you know someone?"
I looked at the counter near the kitchen, where a sleek, white business card had been sitting in my purse for three weeks—a card given to me by my father in a greasy diner.
May you like
Richard Vance. Top Divorce and Family Custody Attorney.
"I know the best lawyer money can buy," I said, a dark spark of determination filling my chest. "And for the first time in his life... my father is going to pay for something useful."
