“Rebecca Jameson?” he said, his voice dropping to a stunned whisper. “Is… is that really you?”
The entire courtroom went dead silent. My mother’s smug smile faltered, her brow furrowing in confusion. Simon stopped adjusting his expensive cufflinks.
“It’s me, Arthur,” I said softly, using his first name.

Judge Arthur Fairbanks wasn’t just a random civil court judge assigned to our docket. Before he was appointed to the bench, he had been a powerhouse corporate attorney in another city. What my mother and brother completely failed to realize in their arrogance was that thirty years ago, Arthur Fairbanks had been my father’s original business partner. He was the godfather my dad had named in my baptism records—a man I hadn’t seen since I was ten years old because he had moved away for his judicial career.

More importantly, Arthur was the man who had secretly drafted my father’s actual, irrevocable corporate trust.
“I thought you were in Europe,” Judge Fairbanks said, completely ignoring my mother’s attorney, who was now standing up and frantically trying to object to the casual exchange. “Your mother sent me a letter two years ago saying you had moved overseas and wanted nothing to do with the estate. She said you had legally surrendered your shares.”

“Objection!” my mother’s lawyer practically shouted, looking panicked. “Your Honor, this is highly irregular. We are here to discuss the termination of the defendant’s minor trust fund due to financial incompetence.”
Judge Fairbanks slowly turned his gaze toward my mother. The look in his eyes was so terrifyingly cold that I actually saw Diane shrink back into her chair.

“Financial incompetence?” Judge Fairbanks repeated, his voice echoing loudly in the silent room. He picked up the petition my mother had filed and quite literally tossed it over his shoulder.

It fluttered to the ground like garbage. “Mrs. Jameson, I don’t know what kind of game you are playing in my courtroom today, but I am the surviving executor of Richard Jameson’s true corporate trust. A trust that explicitly names Rebecca as the sole inheritor of the voting shares of Jameson Real Estate, and states that any attempt to legally contest her inheritance by you or your son will trigger a total forfeiture of your own assets.”