Chapter 7 - THE TRIAL BEFORE THE TRIAL
Sabrina Vale entered court four months later without red silk, diamonds, or arrogance.
She wore a gray suit.
Her hair was tied back.
Cameras waited outside.
The viral courtroom video had transformed her into a symbol of cruelty to millions of strangers.
But inside the courtroom, only evidence mattered.
Elena sat beside Rachel.
Her pregnancy had reached thirty-seven weeks.
A healthy son moved constantly beneath her navy maternity dress.
Judge Rowan was not on the bench.
He sat three rows behind Elena as family.
That still felt strange.
Wonderful.
Painful.
They had spent months learning each other.
Elias showed Elena photographs of Margaret as a child.
Elena gave him recordings of Margaret singing to her grandchildren-to-be before she died.
Some evenings they cried.
Others they laughed.
Neither pretended thirty-four lost years could be repaired.
They simply refused to lose another day intentionally.
Nathan entered with Daniel.
He had changed.
Not dramatically.
He was still wealthy.
Still impeccably dressed.
Still recognizable.
But the polished certainty was gone.
He had resigned temporarily as CEO while investigators reviewed company records.
He sold his lakefront penthouse and used the proceeds to cover employee payroll after lenders froze part of Mercer Development’s credit.
He had also given prosecutors every document they requested.
Not to win Elena back.
He finally understood that was not his decision.
Sabrina glanced at him.
Nathan looked away.
Her hearing concerned assault and conspiracy-related charges.
Calvin faced separate federal financial allegations.
Prosecutors believed Sabrina and Calvin had conspired to manipulate the Mercer divorce to obtain Elena’s property.
Whether they could prove every part remained uncertain.
What they could prove was enough.
The prosecutor called Sabrina’s former accountant.
Then Lauren Pike’s sister.
Then Nathan.
When he took the stand, Sabrina finally looked frightened.
The prosecutor asked, “Mr. Mercer, did Ms. Vale know about your wife’s property?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I told her.”
“Did you know at that time Ms. Vale had a prior relationship with Calvin Reese?”
“No.”
“When did you discover that?”
“After the courtroom assault.”
“Did Ms. Vale ever encourage you to pressure Mrs. Mercer financially?”
“Yes.”
Elena sat very still.
“What did she say?”
Nathan looked ashamed.
“She said Elena had never contributed to the company and shouldn’t leave the marriage with assets I had built.”
The prosecutor asked, “Was that true?”
“No.”
Nathan looked toward Elena.
“My wife contributed before the company existed.”
Rachel noticed Elena’s jaw tighten.
Nathan continued.
“She sold property to fund my first business. She worked while I took no salary. She handled our home for years while I traveled. Saying she contributed nothing was a lie.”
“Yet you accepted Ms. Vale’s argument at the time.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Nathan paused.
“Because it told me what I wanted to hear.”
The courtroom became silent.
Sabrina stared at him.
The prosecutor continued.
“Did Ms. Vale encourage you to restrict Mrs. Mercer’s access to marital funds?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you do it?”
Nathan’s voice was low.
“I was angry Elena wouldn’t accept the settlement my attorneys proposed.”
“Did you understand she was pregnant and financially dependent on accounts you controlled?”
“Yes.”
“Did you do it anyway?”
“Yes.”
Elena looked down.
Part of her wanted him to lie.
Not because she wished to protect him.
Because every truth reopened something.
But another part needed the record to exist exactly as it happened.
On cross-examination, Sabrina’s attorney attacked Nathan.
“You are hardly an innocent victim, are you?”
“No.”
“You cheated on your wife.”
“Yes.”
“You lied repeatedly.”
“Yes.”
“You discussed her private property with my client.”
“Yes.”
“You restricted her access to money.”
“Yes.”
“You intended to benefit if she surrendered her land.”
Nathan paused.
“I believed the project would benefit me financially, yes.”
“So perhaps you are blaming Ms. Vale because your marriage collapsed.”
“No.”
“No?”
“My marriage collapsed because of my choices.”
Elena looked up.
Nathan met no one’s eyes.
“That doesn’t make Sabrina innocent of hers.”
The attorney sat down.
During recess, Elena experienced a contraction.
Rachel noticed immediately.
“You okay?”
“Fine.”
“You’re thirty-seven weeks pregnant.”
“I know.”
Another contraction came twelve minutes later.
Judge Rowan approached.
“We’re leaving.”
“I want to hear the rest.”
“The rest will still exist tomorrow.”
“Grandpa.”
He softened every time she said it.
Rachel checked the time.
“Ten minutes apart.”
Elena frowned.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I am not going into labor during Sabrina Vale’s hearing.”
Rachel smiled.
“Your son apparently does not respect court scheduling.”
Nathan saw them moving.
“What happened?”
Elena glared.
“Nothing.”
Another contraction struck.
Her face answered for her.
Nathan went pale.
“Is it the baby?”
“No, Nathan. I swallowed a basketball.”
Judge Rowan nearly smiled despite himself.
They reached the hallway.
Then Elena stopped.
Warm liquid ran down her legs.
She closed her eyes.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
Rachel said, “Your water broke.”
Nathan stood ten feet away.
He looked more terrified than when Calvin pointed a gun at him.
“What do we do?”
Elena stared at him.
“We?”
He caught himself.
“Right. Sorry.”
Judge Rowan called the hospital.
Rachel grabbed Elena’s bag.
Nathan remained frozen.
Elena took three steps.
Then stopped.
“Nathan.”
He looked up.
“Drive.”
“What?”
“Rachel rode with Grandpa.”
“You want me to—”
“I want to get to the hospital before your son is born in a courthouse elevator.”
Nathan moved instantly.
Twenty-three minutes later, he was driving through Chicago with both hands clenched around the steering wheel.
Elena breathed through another contraction.
“Slow down.”
“I’m doing sixty.”
“Exactly.”
“You’re in labor.”
“I would prefer not to die before delivery.”
Nathan slowed.
Another contraction.
Elena gripped the door.
Nathan whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“If you apologize while I’m contracting, I will open this door and throw you into traffic.”
He shut up.
At the hospital entrance, nurses brought a wheelchair.
Nathan stopped.
Elena looked at him.
“Are you coming?”
His eyes widened.
“To the delivery room?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Oh.”
“You can wait.”
“Of course.”
Seven hours passed.
Judge Rowan arrived.
Rachel left.
Nathan paced.
At 2:41 a.m., a nurse opened the door.
“Mr. Mercer?”
He stood.
“Mother and baby are healthy.”
His eyes closed.
“A boy?”
“A very loud boy.”
Nathan laughed once, then covered his face.
The nurse smiled.
“She said you can meet him.”
Nathan entered carefully.
Elena lay exhausted against white pillows.
A tiny baby slept against her chest.
Nathan stopped several feet away.
He had imagined this moment during the entire pregnancy.
In those fantasies, he and Elena were still married.
He held her hand.
He cut the cord.
They cried together.
Reality was quieter.
And deservedly so.
Elena looked at him.
“His name is Samuel Thomas Mercer.”
“Thomas.”
“My father.”
Nathan nodded.
“He’s beautiful.”
Elena adjusted the blanket.
“Wash your hands.”
Nathan almost smiled.
He obeyed.
Then Elena handed him their son.
Nathan’s face changed the moment Samuel settled into his arms.
All the money.
All the buildings.
All the deals.
Nothing had prepared him for six pounds and eleven ounces of sleeping responsibility.
“Hi,” Nathan whispered.
Samuel opened one eye.
Nathan cried.
Not dramatically.
Just silently.
Elena watched.
She did not forgive him.
But she did not look away.
After several minutes, Nathan returned the baby.
“Thank you.”
Elena nodded.
At the door, he stopped.
“The divorce hearing is next month.”
“I know.”
“I’m not contesting anything.”
“I know.”
Nathan looked at Samuel.
“I’ll spend the rest of my life being better for him.”
Elena replied quietly.
“Do it for yourself too.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Otherwise, the first time he stops needing you, you’ll become the same man again.”
Nathan absorbed that.
Then left.
Judge Rowan entered five minutes later.
He looked at Samuel and immediately cried.
Elena smiled.
“Meet your great-grandson.”
Elias held the baby.
“What did you name him?”
“Samuel Thomas.”
Elias nodded.
“Your mother would have loved him.”
Elena touched the necklace at her throat.
“I think she does.”
Outside the hospital, dawn broke over Chicago.
Inside the courthouse across town, Sabrina Vale agreed to a plea arrangement.
But before signing it, she gave prosecutors one final piece of evidence.
May you like
A safe-deposit key.
And inside the corresponding box was a document that changed ownership of the Bennett land forever.
