Chapter 5 - The Line in the Sand
Alejandro didn't move an inch. He looked down at Mercer, a slow, dangerous smile touching his lips.
"A public scandal?" Alejandro repeated, his voice echoing over the quiet driveway. "Is that what you're worried about, Harold? Because from where I'm standing, the only scandal brewing is how an accredited director of a fertility clinic managed to forge destruction certificates for human embryos and list them for sale on international brokers."
Mercer’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second, his grip tightening around the Manila folder in his hand.
"I don't know what foolish lies a bitter, dying girl told her mother," Mercer said smoothly, recovering his composure. "Sofia Gomez was mentally unstable. She suffered from severe delusions. Whatever she told Elena was the product of a broken mind."
"She wasn't delusional enough to lose the genetic paper trail," a loud, authoritative voice called out from behind Mercer's SUVs.
A sleek black sedan pulled up sharply behind the convoy. Marcus Sterling stepped out, carrying a heavy leather briefcase, followed by two junior associates holding portable scanners and document folders.
"Dr. Mercer," Marcus said, walking briskly up the steps toward Alejandro. "I am Marcus Sterling, chief counsel for Vance Enterprises. I have just filed an emergency petition for emergency custody and genetic verification with the Cook County Family Court."
Mercer scoffed, though a slight sheen of sweat had begun to form on his forehead. "You have no standing, Sterling. Those children are legally classified as abandoned wards under state administrative jurisdiction."
"Those children are the biological sons of Alejandro Vance and the late Sofia Vance," Marcus fired back, slapping a stack of stamped court orders onto Mercer's folder. "This is an immediate injunction signed by Judge Rebecca Vance—no relation, but exceptionally fast when presented with preliminary DNA matches from the Horizon Institute's own digital backups."
Mercer turned pale. "Digital backups?"
"Did you really think Sofia Gomez was stupid, Harold?" Alejandro asked, stepping down one stair, closing the distance between them. "She was an embryologist. She knew how your server network worked. Before she left Chicago, she backed up every chain-of-custody file, every bank transfer, and every message you sent regarding embryo lot numbers 408 through 411."
Mercer backed away half a step, looking at his three tactical guards, who were now noticeably looking away, realizing they were standing on the property of one of the most powerful billionaires in the state alongside high-powered attorneys.
"This isn't over, Alejandro," Mercer spat, his professional polish completely vanishing, revealing the desperate rat beneath. "You can't just take four children into a house with no mother, no preparation, and a father who hasn't spent a single day raising a child. The state will investigate your home. They will tear your life apart."
"Let them try," Alejandro said coldly. "Get off my land."
Mercer glared at him for three long seconds before turning sharply and climbing back into his SUV. The three black vehicles pulled a sharp U-turn on the cobblestones, kicking up gravel as they sped through the front gates.
When the gates closed with a heavy metallic clack, silence descended over the estate once more.
Marcus turned to Alejandro, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. "We bought ourselves time, Alejandro. But Mercer was right about one thing. The state family services department will come here tomorrow. They will inspect everything. If they see a lonely billionaire living in a cold museum with four toddlers and a housekeeper, they won't grant permanent custody."
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Alejandro turned and looked back at the massive front doors of his home.
"Then we make it a home by tomorrow morning," Alejandro said.
