Chapter 4 - The Arrival of the Judge
Ten minutes later, a silver Bentley Continental blew through the outer security gates, escorted by private guards.
Judge Harold Sterling stepped out of the vehicle, his silver hair immaculate, leaning heavily on an ebony cane.
Behind him walked two senior defense attorneys from Sterling, Cross & Associates.
Harold entered the grand foyer with the sweeping arrogance of a man who had controlled state courts for thirty years.
"Marcus!" Harold’s booming voice rattled the crystal chandeliers.
"What is this unconscionable outrage?
You assault my daughter, lock her in a hallway, and surround my family with armed mercenaries?"
Marcus walked down the curved staircase, completely unfazed by the elder man's theatrical fury.
He wore the same tailored dark green suit, his hands resting casually in his pockets.
"Good afternoon, Judge Sterling," Marcus said calmly.
"Your daughter attempted an aggravated assault against an infant and an employee on recorded video.
She is currently detained in the east parlor awaiting the arrival of the State Police."
Harold let out a sharp, dismissive laugh, tapping his cane against the marble floor.
"A fabricated family quarrel!
A domestic misunderstanding between a mother and a hired servant!
No prosecutor in this state will dare bring an indictment against my daughter on the word of a common maid!"
Marcus stopped on the bottom step, looking down at his father-in-law with pure, unadulterated contempt.
"The maid is not just a witness, Harold.
She was wearing a state-certified audio-visual telemetry badge authorized by the Child Protection Division.
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And the prosecutor who signed the preliminary warrant isn't a state attorney.
It's Federal Prosecutor Rebecca Hayes from the Department of Justice."
