Chapter 8 - The Legal Claim
Two months after the attack on the estate, the city of Boston was completely quiet. The Vance Cartel had been completely dismantled by federal authorities, using the digital ledgers Gideon had secured from the server room. Victor Vance was looking at life without parole, and the corrupt police department had been completely restructured under a new, clean administration.
But a new, unexpected threat arrived on a crisp autumn morning.
Joan sat in the grand dining room, helping Betty with a drawing of their new rose garden, when Gideon walked in, his expression tight, carrying a legal document stamped with the city seal.
"What is it, Gideon?" Joan asked, standing up.
"It’s my late wife’s family," Gideon said, his voice laced with a bitter, toxic resentment. "The Kensingtons. Now that the Vance threat is gone and my legitimate corporate assets have tripled, they are filing for sole custody of Betty. They’re claiming that my 'lifestyle' and the recent security breaches make me an unfit father."
Joan’s blood ran cold. "They want to take Betty away? After everything she’s been through?"
"They don't want Betty, Joan. They want the Sterling trust fund that is legally tied to her name," Gideon hissed, slamming his hand against the mahogany table. "The court hearing is tomorrow morning. Their lawyers are going to use the fact that I am a single father with an unstable domestic environment to convince the judge."
Joan looked down at Betty, who was looking up with wide, terrified eyes, her small hand already trembling as she reached for Joan’s skirt.
"No," Joan said, her voice growing incredibly firm, a dangerous determination hardening in her amber eyes. She looked up at Gideon, stepping into his personal space. "They won't take her. Gideon... look at me. What if you aren't a single father?"
Gideon froze, his ice-blue eyes locking onto hers. "Joan... what are you saying?"
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"Marry me," she said softly, a beautiful, brilliant smile touching her lips. "Not next year. Not next month. Tonight. Let’s go to the city hall, sign the papers, and tomorrow morning, we walk into that courtroom not as a dangerous single father and his employee, but as Mr. and Mrs. Sterling. A complete, legally unified family."
Gideon stared at her, the coldness in his face completely melting away to reveal a profound, overwhelming love. He reached out, cupping her face in his large hands. "Joan Rhodess... you came into my life as an invisible waitress, and now you are saving my family all over again. I would marry you in a burning building."
