Chapter 10 - The Imposter’s Plea
Victoria didn't flinch as Julian and Agent Miller stepped off the elevator; instead, a cold, calculating smile spread across her face as she turned her full attention back to Judge Harrison, who was already holding the emergency injunction stamp in his weathered hand.
"Your Honor, as you can see from the certified emergency filings, any delay in granting this corporate re-issuance will result in the immediate collapse of three major public utilities funded by our holding entity," Victoria lied smoothly, her voice carrying the practiced authority of a seasoned corporate litigator.
Judge Harrison frowned over his half-moon reading glasses, peering down at the thick stack of papers on his mahogany podium.
"Mr. Vance, your legal representation filed for an emergency stay less than twenty minutes ago, yet here is your designated corporate proxy presenting the opposing motion," the judge noted, looking directly at Julian with a mixture of judicial annoyance and confusion.
Julian stepped forward, breaking past the low wooden swinging gate of the gallery with Maya firmly clutching his coat sleeve, while Agent Miller flanked his right side with his hand resting on his badge.
"Your Honor, that woman is not my corporate proxy, nor is she my wife. She is Victoria Vance, a legally declared deceased individual who has assumed her twin sister Eleanor's identity to execute a multi-million-dollar fraud," Julian stated clearly, his voice echoing off the high vaulted ceilings of Courtroom 4B.
A low murmur rippled through the handful of spectators seated in the wooden pews, while Judge Harrison slammed his gavel down once with a sharp crack that silenced the room instantly.
"Mr. Vance, make outrageous claims in my courtroom, and you had better have biometric confirmation ready to back them up," Judge Harrison warned, his eyes narrowing as he looked from Julian to the composed woman standing before him.
Victoria tilted her head, affecting an air of deep, sorrowful disappointment.
"Poor Julian has suffered a complete psychological breakdown following the recent financial pressures of our expansion," Victoria said, addressing the judge with a fabricated tremor in her voice. "He no longer recognizes his own family."
Agent Miller stepped up to the bench, sliding the waterproof evidence pouch containing the master recovery drive and the certified birth certificates across the polished wood.
"Your Honor, federal warrants and biometric fingerprint matches pulled from the estate's security servers five minutes ago confirm the identity of the person standing before you," Miller stated calmly. "That is Victoria Vance, fugitive from justice."
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Victoria’s composure cracked for a single, micro-second as she realized the federal database had already processed her prints, but she recovered with terrifying speed, slamming her heavy leather briefcase down onto the judge's podium and popping the brass latches open to reveal a stack of high-explosive detonators wired directly to a digital timer counting down from three minutes.
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