Chapter 5 - The Ambush
The following morning, three court-appointed evaluators arrived at the Caldwell estate, accompanied by a police escort and Eleanor Ashford’s personal legal team.
Eleanor stepped out of her black Maybach, wearing a smirk of triumphant malice. "Good morning, Victoria," she said, strolling up the stone steps of my father's house. "You look pale. Pregnancy hormones can be so dreadfully destabilizing to the mind, can't they?"
"Get off my property, Eleanor," I said, standing tall at the front entrance with my father at my side.
"I am here under a judicial order, darling," Eleanor purred, holding up a signed document. "Given your history of emotional distress and the severe trauma you supposedly suffered, the defense has successfully argued that your mental capacity must be evaluated to determine if you are fit to retain custody of the child upon delivery. If you refuse to cooperate, the court will cite you for contempt and place the child in state protective custody immediately after birth."
My breath hitched. "You monster. You want to steal my baby while Derek is in jail?"
"Derek will be out soon enough," Eleanor said smoothly. "Our legal team is filing an emergency appeal for his bail today. Once we prove you are an unstable mother who fabricated an attack out of postpartum paranoia, my son will be cleared, and my family will take what is rightfully ours."
My father stepped forward, his body shielding me. "You have thirty minutes to conduct your court-mandated questionnaire, Mrs. Ashford. And if your fraudulent doctors step one inch outside the scope of the judge's specific order, I will have them disbarred by evening."
We moved into the formal parlor. For two agonizing hours, the psychiatrists drilled me with intrusive, targeted questions, trying to catch me off balance, trying to provoke an emotional outburst that they could document as "hysteria."
"Mrs. Ashford, did you ever express feelings of overwhelming dread regarding your marriage prior to the gala?" one doctor asked, his pen hovering over his clipboard.
"I felt dread because my husband was physically and emotionally abusive," I answered clearly, keeping my voice steady, my gaze unwavering. "Not because of a psychological chemical imbalance, but because Derek Ashford is a violent criminal."
"And yet, you stayed," another doctor noted coldly.
"I stayed because he threatened to murder my family if I left," I retorted smoothly. "Just as his mother is currently trying to use you to carry out an legal abduction."
Before the doctors could ask their next question, the parlor doors flew open. Marcus entered, holding a secure satellite phone.
"Sir," Marcus said to my father. "The Federal District Court just issued an emergency injunction."
May you like
Eleanor’s smile faltered. "What injunction?"
My father took the phone, listened for two seconds, and then looked at Eleanor with a look of pure triumph. "The Department of Justice and the SEC have just seized all assets belonging to Ashford Technologies and the personal accounts of Derek and Eleanor Ashford. You are under federal investigation for securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering."
