Chapter 5 - THE LEGAL AMBUSHThe knock on the door of Amelia’s brownstone apartment in Brooklyn came at precisely 8:14 AM on Wednesday.
Amelia’s heart leaped into her throat. She stood in the narrow hallway, her baby—Chloe—resting peacefully in her arms, chewing on a wooden teething ring. She had spent the last forty-eight hours reinforcing every window, checking every lock, and packing a go-bag just in case Grayson’s wealth manifested into a tactical team at her doorstep.
She opened the door slightly, the security chain still latched.
It wasn't a tactical team. It was a court-appointed process server holding a thick, crisp manila envelope stamped with the seal of the New York Supreme Court.
"Amelia Hart?" the man asked flatly.
"Yes," she whispered.
"You have been served. Emergency petition for Paternity Establishment, Joint Custody Injunction, and Mandated Financial Disclosure filed by Grayson Maddox."
The envelope slid through the crack of the door and landed heavily on the hardwood floor.
Amelia stared down at it, her hands trembling so badly she nearly dropped Chloe. The speed of it—the sheer, terrifying velocity of a billionaire’s wrath—left her breathless. He hadn't waited. He hadn't tried to call and reason. He had launched a legal missile straight into her quiet life.
Ten minutes later, her phone buzzed violently on the kitchen counter.
It wasn't Grayson. It was a name she hadn't seen on her screen in two years.
Marcus Chen.
Amelia swiped to answer, her voice sharp and defensive. "If you're calling to plead his case, save your breath, Marcus. He just had me served."
"I’m not calling to plead his case, Amelia," Marcus said, his voice unusually grave, filled with an underlying current of warning. "I’m calling because you need to know who he just hired."
Amelia froze, a chill running down her spine. "Who?"
"Victoria Vance," Marcus said grimly. "And more importantly... Jonathan Vance is funding her side of the litigation under the table. They aren't just trying to get custody, Amelia. Jonathan wants to use this custody battle to force Grayson out as CEO of Maddox Development by painting him as mentally unstable and embroiled in a scandalous family feud."
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Amelia’s breath caught in her throat. The legal battle wasn't just about her baby anymore. It was a Trojan horse designed to destroy Grayson from the inside out—and her and Chloe were the weapons being used to do it.
Hook: The custody battle explodes into a corporate assassination plot, and Amelia realizes that if Grayson loses his empire, her baby loses everything.
