Chapter 16 - The Legal Counterattack
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Two weeks later, Grant attempted his desperate final stand.
He hired a high-priced team of trial lawyers and filed an emergency lawsuit in New York Supreme Court, alleging that Evelyn had exerted “undue influence and fraud” over his late father, Charles Mercer, to obtain the fifty-two percent voting shares six years ago.
The courtroom was packed with media reporters and industry executives hungry for more drama.
Grant sat at the plaintiff’s table, looking gaunt, haggard, and nervous in a rumpled suit.
Across the aisle, Evelyn sat beside Martin Shaw and Julian Vance, looking cool, composed, and utterly unbothered.
The presiding judge, a stern woman named Justice Miller, slammed her gavel down.
“Mr. Mercer’s counsel may present their evidence of undue influence,” Justice Miller ordered.
Grant’s attorney stood up, cleared his throat, and launched into a passionate speech claiming Evelyn had manipulated an ailing, sick old man on his deathbed to steal his family’s rightful inheritance.
When he finished, Martin Shaw stood up calmly.
“Your Honor,” Martin began, adjusted his glasses. “We have only one piece of evidence to submit into the record.”
He motioned to the bailiff, who handed a encrypted USB drive to the judge’s clerk.
“This is a video recording made by Charles Mercer six years ago, recorded in the presence of two independent psychiatrists, three high-court judges, and a certified video technician,” Martin explained.
The courtroom projector flickered to life.
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The face of Charles Mercer filled the large screen. Though frail, his eyes were sharp, bright, and intensely focused.
“If you are watching this video,” Charles’s voice echoed through the courtroom, “it means my son, Grant, has done something catastrophically foolish.”
