Chapter 9 - The Last JudgeJulian disappeared before dawn.
Arthur survived.
My mother survived the shooting too, barely.
The truth about Julian destroyed everything he believed about himself.
He wasn't Arthur's biological son.
He had been raised as a weapon.
A rival.
A replacement heir.
And unlike me, he had never known the truth.
But Edmund still had one last advantage.
The courthouse.
Arthur's entire operation had been built through it.
Records could be altered.
Cases could disappear.
Witnesses could vanish.
And if Edmund controlled the court, he could erase everything.
Victor called me at 4:12 a.m.
“Get dressed.”
“Where?”
“The courthouse.”
We arrived before sunrise.
The building was surrounded by federal agents.
Inside, the atmosphere felt dead.
Arthur was transported into the main courtroom.
He sat at the judge's bench.
For years, people had feared that chair.
Now Arthur looked at it like a prison cell.
The prosecutor entered.
“Judge Sterling.”
Arthur stared at him.
“I want to testify.”
The room erupted.
His attorneys objected.
Arthur stood.
“No.”
He looked at the gallery.
“I am finished lying.”
Then he began talking.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Murder orders.
Bribes.
Everything.
The courtroom became chaos.
Then the doors opened.
Edmund walked in.
Every agent raised weapons.
Edmund smiled.
“You've become sentimental, Arthur.”
Arthur stared.
“You killed my daughter.”
Edmund shook his head.
“No.”
“You ordered it.”
“I ordered a lesson.”
Arthur's voice broke.
“That was my daughter.”
Edmund looked at Julian.
Julian stood behind the agents.
He had turned himself in.
He looked at me.
Then at Edmund.
“You lied to me.”
Edmund shrugged.
“You were useful.”
Julian's jaw tightened.
“You told me she was trying to steal everything.”
“She was.”
“You told me Arthur loved me.”
“He did.”
“Why didn't you tell me I was your son?”
Edmund didn't answer.
Julian laughed bitterly.
“Because I was disposable.”
Edmund's face hardened.
“You always were.”
Something inside Julian broke.
He pulled a small drive from his pocket.
“I have the recordings.”
Edmund's eyes widened.
“Julian…”
“The conversations.”
He handed them to the prosecutor.
“Everything.”
Edmund lunged.
Agents tackled him.
The courthouse erupted.
Then someone shouted:
“Vault breach!”
Security officers ran downstairs.
I followed Victor.
Inside the courthouse vault, the walls were covered with evidence boxes.
Arthur stood beside an open safe.
Inside lay a second ledger.
Victor stared.
“How?”
Arthur looked at me.
“Your grandfather kept insurance.”
“What kind?”
Arthur lifted the ledger.
“Proof against himself.”
Victor opened it.
Every conspiracy was documented.
Including Edmund's involvement.
But one final page caught my attention.
It contained only three words.
PROJECT NEVER ENDS.
Beneath them was a date.
Tomorrow.
I looked at Victor.
“What's tomorrow?”
His face tightened.
“The final transfer.”
“What transfer?”
He turned the page.
My name was there.
And beside it:
GOVERNMENT SUCCESSION AUTHORIZATION.
I didn't understand.
Victor did.
“Edmund wasn't just stealing your family's money.”
“What?”
“He was using the trust to control government contracts.”
I stared at the document.
“And tomorrow…”
Victor looked at me.
“Tomorrow, if that authorization goes through, he gains control of something far bigger.”
“How big?”
My father stared at the page.
“The defense network.”
The entire building suddenly shook.
An explosion rocked the street outside.
Agents shouted.
Victor grabbed my arm.
“We have five minutes.”
“For what?”
May you like
He looked at the burning courthouse doors.
“To stop a coup.”
