Chapter 16 - THE HEARINGThe guardianship hearing began at nine.
The courtroom was packed.
Reporters.
Lawyers.
Family.
And strangers who had no business knowing my name.
Daniel was not there.
That bothered me.
His attorney stood confidently beside the plaintiff's table.
My mother's affidavit was presented.
Then Victoria's.
Then video footage of me.
Edited.
Manipulated.
Convincing.
The judge watched silently.
My attorney argued that the evidence had been fabricated.
Ethan submitted digital forensic reports.
The opposition objected.
The judge allowed the hearing to continue.
Then the prosecutor introduced the fake lease.
The forged power of attorney.
The fake medical records.
The alleged pregnancy.
They were presented as evidence of my instability.
My life had been rewritten in real time.
Then the opposing attorney said:
“Your Honor, my client believes Ms. Bennett is suffering from a delusional fixation involving her family's property.”
I almost laughed.
A delusional fixation.
That was exactly what Daniel needed.
If the judge believed it, the guardian could control the trust.
Then a man entered the courtroom.
Gray hair.
Dark suit.
Calm expression.
Daniel Mercer.
I had never met him as an adult.
But I knew his face.
He smiled at me.
“Lauren.”
My body went cold.
Ethan immediately stood.
“Daniel Mercer.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Marshal Vance.”
The courtroom fell silent.
Daniel walked slowly to the witness stand.
He didn't look nervous.
Not even slightly.
He said:
“I have spent years trying to protect this family.”
I almost laughed.
“From whom?” I asked.
He looked at me.
“From you.”
The judge warned me not to interrupt.
Daniel continued.
“Lauren became increasingly unstable after the death of her father.”
My father sat in the back row.
Alive.
Daniel didn't even look at him.
That was the strangest part.
As if seeing a dead man hadn't bothered him.
Then Daniel submitted a document.
A medical report.
Claiming I had been diagnosed with a psychological disorder.
It carried the signature of a doctor I'd never met.
My attorney objected.
The judge examined it.
Then Ethan stood.
“Your Honor.”
The judge looked at him.
“We have evidence that the doctor listed on that report has been dead for four years.”
Silence.
The courtroom erupted.
Daniel didn't react.
He simply looked toward me.
And smiled.
Then he said:
“Of course.”
I stared.
“What?”
He turned toward the judge.
“I expected that objection.”
Then he pulled out another document.
Real this time.
My medical records.
Actual records.
Private.
Confidential.
Records only one person should have been able to access.
He looked at me.
“You want the truth?”
He placed the records on the desk.
“You were never Lauren Bennett.”
I felt the room disappear.
He continued.
“Your real name is Elise Mercer.”
Everyone stared at me.
Elise, sitting in the audience, stood abruptly.
Daniel smiled.
“That woman is the real Lauren.”
He pointed toward the back.
Toward Elise.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then I looked at my twin.
She looked at me.
Her face was pale.
Daniel had just switched the identities.
May you like
The exact plan he had been building for years.
And the courtroom was about to decide which woman was real.
