Chapter 10 - The Price of Freedom
The mahogany desk seemed to expand between them, turning into an uncrossable chasm of corruption and legal immunity. Judge Harrison picked up his scotch glass, swirling the amber liquid lazily against the crystal sides before taking a slow sip. He looked at Clara and David with the absolute confidence of a man who owned the rules of the game from the board to the dice.
"You can't bury this forever, Harrison," David said, his voice hard as he stepped up beside Clara, placing a steadying hand on her arm. "The federal authorities are already involved. Elena is in custody. It’s only a matter of time before they trace her financial records straight back to this estate."
Judge Harrison let out a dry, humorless laugh, setting the glass back down with a sharp clink.
"Elena is a pragmatist, David. By the time morning comes, her corporate lawyers will have classified her arrest as a hostile corporate takeover attempt by a disgruntled surrogate," Harrison replied smoothly. "And as for the federal authorities? My jurisdiction reaches much further than you seem to realize. The judges on the federal panel are men I placed on the bench."
Clara didn't back down. She maintained her intense stare, her dark eyes narrowing as she calculated every possible angle in the room.
"You forgot one thing, Judge," Clara said, her voice cutting through the heavy air of the study like a razor blade.
Harrison raised an eyebrow, genuinely amused. "And what is that, my dear? A dramatic speech about justice and moral integrity? Because those went out of style the day I signed your adoption papers."
"No," Clara whispered, a faint, chilling smile touching the corners of her lips. "I forgot to mention that the burner phone you think is sitting in the nursery is currently streaming a live audio feed to the United States Attorney General’s office."
The color visibly drained from Judge Harrison’s face. The grandfatherly facade cracked instantly, exposing the panicked bureaucrat underneath. He lunged forward, grabbing the edge of the mahogany desk as his eyes darted toward the iron safe on the wall.
"You’re bluffing," Harrison muttered, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him. "You wouldn't destroy your own family name just to bring me down."
"My family name died in that fire twenty years ago, Harrison," David said, stepping closer and resting both hands flat on the desk, towering over the older man. "You gave me a lie. And now, you’re going to give me my daughter back, or I will personally watch them drag you out of this courthouse in chains."
Harrison stared at them, his chest heaving as the seconds ticked by in agonizing slowness. Slowly, deliberately, the judge reached into his vest pocket, pulled out a heavy brass key, and tossed it onto the blotter between them.
"The safe contains the child's true passport and the transit tickets to Geneva," Harrison whispered, his voice defeated. "Take her and run. Because if you stay in this city by sunrise, neither of us will survive the morning."
May you like
David grabbed the key, but before he could turn toward the safe, the heavy oak door of the study was violently kicked off its hinges.
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