Chapter 6
PART 6:
The judge opened the report.
The courtroom waited.
Clara could not stop crying now.
Eleanor kept one hand on her shoulder, not forcing closeness, just offering it.
A touch that asked permission.
That alone made Clara cry harder.
The judge read silently.
Then he looked over his glasses at Julian.
“Mr. Mercer, you and your counsel have repeatedly described Mrs. Mercer as having no family support. Were you aware of any pending DNA verification?”
Julian’s attorney stood quickly.
“Your Honor, my client had no knowledge—”
But Vanessa made a mistake.
She whispered, “Julian, you said you buried that email.”
Every head near the front turned.
Julian’s face snapped toward her.
Too late.
Rebecca’s eyes narrowed.
“What email?” the judge asked.
Vanessa went pale.
Julian grabbed her wrist under the table.
The judge saw it.
“Remove your hand from her immediately.”
Julian let go.
Eleanor’s attorney stepped forward.
“Your Honor, Mrs. Mercer’s medical DNA notification was sent to a household email address three weeks ago. We believe Mr. Mercer intercepted it.”
Clara stared at Julian.
He had known?
Maybe not everything.
But enough.
Enough to hide it.
Enough to let her believe she was still alone.
Rebecca placed another document before the judge.
“We subpoenaed login records this morning,” she said. “The email was opened from Mr. Mercer’s office computer. It was then deleted.”
Julian stood so fast his chair scraped the floor.
“This has nothing to do with the divorce!”
Eleanor’s voice cut through him.
“It has everything to do with the way you preyed on a woman because you believed no one would come for her.”
The judge’s expression hardened.
He ordered an immediate recess.
May you like
But he did not let Julian leave.
👉 And during that one-hour recess, everything Julian tried to hide began rising to the surface…
