Chapter 4 - VENOM AND VIPERS
Two days after Christmas, the legal assault began.
Nathan was sitting in his home office, watching the girls play with a massive set of wooden blocks on the rug, when his lead attorney, Richard Sterling, called.
"Nathan, it’s bad," Richard’s voice crackled through the speaker. "Vanessa just filed an emergency petition in New York. She’s claiming you are a volatile, abusive workaholic who threw her out into a blizzard and kidnapped the girls."
Nathan scoffed, watching Emma hand a block to Sophie. "I have security footage of her feeding them moldy bread."
"It gets worse," Richard interrupted. "She hired Victor Thorne. The biggest shark in family law. And she’s not just going for the divorce settlement. She’s demanding full physical custody of the girls."
The silence in the office was deafening. Nathan gripped the edge of his mahogany desk. "Custody? She hates them."
"She loves your money, Nathan," Richard said grimly. "Child support for four heirs to the Caldwell fortune? She’d be set for life. Furthermore, she's claiming that since you were out of the country for six months, you have no established relationship with the children, making her the primary psychological parent."
"She’s a monster."
"She's a monster with a very smart lawyer. Thorne just slapped an injunction on Caldwell Systems. They are going to audit your company, drag your name through the mud, and force you into a settlement by threatening your business empire."
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Nathan looked down at his daughters. Lily looked up, offering him a wooden block with a shy, gap-toothed smile. Nathan took it, his heart swelling with a fierce, protective love.
"Let them audit," Nathan said, his voice deadly calm. "Let them dig. Tell Thorne if he wants a war, he’s got one. But tell him to warn his client: I have unlimited resources, and I am fighting for my children. She will not get a single cent, and she will never breathe the same air as my daughters again."
