Chapter 6 - The Ghost of 2018
Julian stood up so abruptly that his chair screeched against the terrazzo floor, knocking over a stack of legal pads. "That’s a lie! Fabricated documents!" he shouted, his voice cracking with panic before the two federal marshals standing behind him forcefully pushed him back down into his seat.
Judge Harrison banged her gavel twice, the sharp cracks echoing like gunshots through the quiet courtroom. "Mr. Vance, one more outburst and you will be held in direct contempt of court. Control yourself or your trial will be conducted entirely from a holding cell."
Henderson was sweating profusely now, desperately shuffling papers as he tried to construct a defense against a charge he had known nothing about five minutes prior. "Your Honor, my client requires time to review these sudden, unsubstantiated allegations. We request a forty-eight-hour recess to examine the provenance of this medical chart."
"Denied," Judge Harrison snapped. "The document bears the notarized signature and medical board credentials of Dr. Evelyn Vance—wait, Dr. Evelyn Vance?" The judge looked up over her spectacles, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the signature page. "Is this any relation to you, Mrs. Vance?"
Claire stood up smoothly from the second row, buttoning her charcoal blazer with deliberate slowness. All eyes in the courtroom instantly shifted toward her.
"Evelyn Vance is my late sister-in-law, Your Honor," Claire said clearly, her voice carrying effortlessly across the room without a microphone. "She was the chief psychiatrist at Oakridge Sanitarium before she passed away in late 2019. She left a sealed deposition with her personal attorney, detailing how Julian coerced her into falsifying Arthur Sterling’s psychiatric evaluation under threat of revoking her medical license."
Julian gripped the edge of the defense table until his knuckles turned ghostly white. He stared at Claire as if she were a ghost risen from the grave, his lips trembling silently as he tried to form words that wouldn't come out.
"The prosecution moves to revoke bail permanently, Your Honor," the district attorney stated, rising to his feet. "Given the severity of these new charges, including potential conspiracy to commit kidnapping and institutional fraud, the defendant represents a severe danger to society and a flight risk of the highest magnitude."
Judge Harrison did not hesitate. She signed the remand order with a sharp, aggressive stroke of her pen, the nib scratching loudly against the paper.
"Bail is denied. The defendant is remanded to federal custody without the possibility of release pending trial," Judge Harrison declared, bringing her gavel down with finality. "Court is adjourned."
As the federal marshals grabbed Julian by the arms and hauled him toward the side exit, Julian twisted his head around, his eyes locking onto Claire with a desperate, venomous plea.
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"You'll never get away with this, Claire!" he screamed as the heavy steel door began to close. "I know what you did in Chicago! I know why you married me!"
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