Chapter 6 - The Trial PreparationBy the end of the month, the preliminary hearings for State of North Carolina v. Grant Mercer were underway in the downtown federal courthouse.
The media circus outside was relentless. News vans lined the streets, reporters thrusting microphones toward every attorney and executive who walked up the stone steps. Grant’s defense team tried every procedural trick in the book, filing motions to suppress the forensic audit, claiming illegal surveillance, and arguing that the digital evidence presented at the anniversary party was obtained without a warrant.
They forgot one crucial detail: I owned the corporate servers. Every document, email, and financial transfer routed through Carter Land infrastructure belonged to the company, not to Grant as an individual.
On a rainy Tuesday afternoon, I sat in the prosecution's prep room with District Attorney Vance and our lead forensic accountant, reviewing exhibits for the trial.
"His defense is collapsing," DA Vance said, sliding a thick file across the table. "Dana Cole’s testimony completely dismantles his claim of executive ignorance. She has bank records showing Grant pressured her into opening offshore accounts in the British Virgin Islands."
"And Grant's personal assets?" I asked.
"Frozen," Vance replied. "His penthouses, luxury cars, designer watches—everything is being seized to satisfy restitution orders. When this is over, Grant Mercer won't have a penny to his name."
I looked out the high window at the gray rain slicking the pavement below. I didn't feel joy or triumphant malice. I felt a quiet, hollow closure.
The man I had loved for a decade had never existed. He was a construct built on ambition, deception, and my father’s reputation.
"He requested a meeting," Vance added cautiously, breaking my train of thought.
"Grant?"
May you like
"Through his attorney. He says he wants to speak with you privately. Just for five minutes, before the formal indictment goes to the grand jury."
I stared at the file for a long moment. Then I stood up, buttoned my wool coat, and picked up my umbrella. "Let's go see what he has to say."
