Chapter 15 - The Counter-Strike
Monday morning. The federal courthouse in lower Manhattan was packed with reporters, financial analysts, and corporate lawyers.
Julian Vance sat at the plaintiff's table, wearing an immaculate charcoal suit, a smug, untouchable smile playing on his lips. He looked across the aisle at Ethan, raising his leather-bound folio in a silent, mocking salute.
Judge Thomas tapped his gavel.
"We are here to hear the injunction regarding the asset freeze of Mercer Holdings," the judge announced. "Mr. Vance, you may proceed."
Julian stood up, adjusting his cuffs with theatrical flair. "Your Honor, the documents submitted by our firm prove conclusively that the foundational capital used to launch Mercer Urban Systems originated from unrecovered commercial liabilities owed to Vance Global Capital. Mr. Mercer is operating on stolen equity. We demand a complete receivership of his corporate assets."
Judge Thomas turned his gaze toward the defense table. "Mr. Mercer? Response?"
Ethan didn't stand up immediately. He slowly sorted through a single sheet of paper pulled from Jocelyn's discarded envelope.
Then, he stood.
"Your Honor," Ethan said, his voice echoing clearly through the vaulted courtroom. "Mr. Vance is entirely correct. The funds used to launch my company did originate from a legacy account managed by his family's firm back in 1995."
Julian’s smug smile widened.
"However," Ethan continued, walking forward and placing a second document onto the clerk's podium, "what Mr. Vance failed to disclose to this court is that under Section 4 of the Federal Interstate Commerce Act, any commercial liability concealed for more than twenty-five years with the intent to entrap a third party constitutes corporate racketeering. Furthermore..."
Ethan turned to face Julian directly.
"...the signature authorizing that hidden debt in 1995 does not belong to my father. It belongs to Arthur Vance—Julian’s own uncle—who used shell companies to embezzle from his own firm before fleeing to the Cayman Islands."
The courtroom erupted into a sharp murmur of gasps and whispers.
Julian’s face drained of color. He slammed his hand onto the table. "That's a fabrication! Objections, Your Honor!"
"Not a fabrication, Mr. Vance," a cool, crisp voice entered from the back gallery.
Victoria Vance—senior partner at Vance & Sterling Corporate Law—stepped down the aisle carrying a thick, leather-bound portfolio bearing federal seals.
"I represent the independent forensic audit team appointed by the state attorney general," Victoria announced smoothly, addressing the judge. "We have verified the signatures. Mr. Julian Vance filed this lawsuit knowing full well that pursuing these historical assets would expose his own family's multi-million-dollar tax evasion scheme. We move for an immediate dismissal of the injunction—and a federal grand jury indictment for corporate extortion."
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Judge Thomas struck his gavel three times.
"Injunction denied," the judge declared, his eyes fixed coldly on Julian. "Case dismissed. Bailiff, escort Mr. Vance to the holding room for questioning."
