Chapter 7 - Celeste’s Desperate Legal Trap
While Jonathan was securing the doctor's ledger in St. Claire Valley, thirty miles away in the city center, Celeste and Richard Sterling were launching their scorched-earth counterattack.
Inside the opulent penthouse office of Sterling Legal Associates, five high-powered attorneys sat around a glass conference table.
Celeste paced furiously across the room, a glass of bourbon trembling in her hand, her eyes bloodshot with manic energy. Across from her, Richard sat with an ice pack pressed against his swollen, wired jaw, his white shirt stained with sweat.
“I don't care what it takes!” Celeste shrieked at the lead attorney, Harold Vance (no relation to Elena). “I want an emergency custody petition on Judge Bennett’s desk before noon! I want an Amber Alert broadcast across three states! Jonathan Sterling has abducted my niece, and that psychotic woman Elena Vance is an accomplice!”
Harold Vance adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, looking nervous. “Celeste, if what you told us about the hospital records is true, the opposing counsel could introduce medical fraud charges—”
“There are no hospital records!” Richard spat through his broken teeth. “The clinic in Blackwood was scrubbed this morning! We own the board of directors at St. Jude Memorial! Any records that existed six years ago have been classified as lost in an accidental digital server fire!”
Celeste slammed her glass onto the table, shattering the base. “Jonathan is a rogue trustee! He has a history of aggressive behavior! We paint him as a mentally unstable man who snapped after the stress of running the logistics division! By the time anyone questions the paperwork, Emma will be back in our custody, locked inside the estate boarding school in Switzerland!”
Harold Vance nodded slowly, intimidated by their ruthless desperation. “Judge Bennett is indebted to your family’s campaign contributions. I can have an emergency ex-parte order signed within two hours. Law enforcement will have the authority to intercept Jonathan’s vehicle with lethal force if necessary under federal kidnapping statutes.”
“Do it,” Celeste hissed, a terrifying smile spreading across her face. “And call the media. I want Jonathan’s face plastered on every news station in the country. Let’s see how far our noble hero runs when eighty million people are hunting him down.”
By 1:00 PM, emergency news broadcasts began interrupting television programming across the state.
Jonathan’s face appeared on screen under massive red banners:
BREAKING NEWS: AMBER ALERT ISSUED FOR 6-YEAR-OLD EMMA STERLING. ARMED AND DANGEROUS SUSPECT JONATHAN STERLING SOUGHT BY STATE POLICE.
Sitting inside a diner parking lot near the county line, Elena watched the broadcast on her smartphone in sheer horror.
“Jonathan... look,” she gasped, holding the screen toward him.
Jonathan stared at the television graphic. His face was pictured beside Emma’s, labeling him a violent child abductor.
“They’re trying to force the police to shoot on sight,” Jonathan said, his voice deadly serious. “They know if this goes to a fair trial, they go to prison for life. Their only way out is to eliminate me before I can present the evidence to the court.”
Emma looked up from the backseat, clutching her small teddy bear. “Daddy, are the police bad guys now?”
Jonathan turned around, offering her the warmest, most confident smile he could muster.
“No, peanut. The police are just confused right now because someone told them a very big lie. But your mommy and I are going to show them the truth. Okay?”
Emma nodded, trusting him completely.
Jonathan turned back to Elena. “We have one more stop before we hit the courthouse. We need a definitive, incontrovertible DNA test that proves you are her mother—and proves Celeste has zero biological connection to this child.”
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“How can we get a DNA test done in hours without being arrested at a clinic?” Elena asked.
Jonathan pulled out his phone. “We go to the only person in this state who hates Richard Sterling more than I do.”
