Chapter 3 - The Ghost of Bennett Meridian SystemsAn hour later, the courtroom was cleared of spectators, leaving only the attorneys, the federal officers, Judge Harrison, and us.
Caleb and Victoria sat slumped at the defense table, separated by armed guards. The smugness was completely gone, replaced by a suffocating, terrified silence.
Captain Vance laid a heavy black laptop onto the center table and plugged in a secure drive. A projector hummed to life against the courtroom screen, casting a glowing blue light across the room.
"Your Honor," Captain Vance addressed the judge, "what you are looking at is not merely a family inheritance dispute. The fraudulent will submitted by Caleb Bennett was designed to cover up a much darker financial operation."
He clicked a key, and a complex web of corporate spreadsheets lit up the wall.
"Three weeks before Arthur Bennett passed away," Vance continued, "he discovered that his son, Caleb, was systematically siphoning defense-grade algorithms from Bennett Meridian Systems and selling them through offshore shell companies to foreign entities. Entities blacklisted by the United States government."
Victoria snapped her head up, glaring at Caleb with pure venom. "You idiot," she hissed. "I told you to cover your tracks better!"
"Shut up, Mom! Shut up!" Caleb sobbed, his voice breaking as reality finally crashed down on him.
I crossed my arms, watching them tear each other apart with grim satisfaction. This was who they were. The moment pressure applied heat to their fragile alliance, they threw each other under the bus without a second thought.
"When Arthur tried to stop them," Captain Vance said, turning his gaze toward me, "he amended his will, stripping Caleb of all executive powers and naming Major Mara Bennett sole executor, while placing the classified military contracts under her direct protection. That is why they had to destroy her reputation. If Major Bennett remained legally and socially viable, they could never cash out the stolen tech."
Judge Harrison stared at the screen, his face hardening into an expression of absolute disgust. "Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Bennett... you didn't just fabricate a civil dispute. You conspired to commit high treason and perjury against a decorated combat veteran."
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"She abandoned us!" Victoria suddenly wailed, pointing a trembling finger at me. "She left home at eighteen! She joined the army like a common mercenary! She broke her father's heart!"
"No, Mother," I stepped forward, my voice dropping the temperature in the room by ten degrees. "I didn't abandon you. I ran away from the monsters who raised me. And today, the bill comes due."
