Chapter 39 - The Magistrate’s Arrival
Friday morning broke cold and grey over Lake Lucerne. A heavy mist clung to the surface of the water, curling around the stone piers and iron gates of the Sterling estate.
At nine-thirty, a motorcade of three black armored sedans escorted by the Swiss Federal Gendarmerie rolled through the front gates of the compound. Inside were the three presiding magistrates of the Lucerne High Court, accompanied by the chief probate registrar of Zurich and a dozen international legal observers.
Arthur Sterling was waiting for them in the Great Hall.
He sat in a massive high-backed leather chair beneath the portraits of five generations of Sterling patriarchs. He was dressed in a bespoke three-piece charcoal suit, his silver hair immaculate, though his face was drawn and pale, an oxygen cannula running subtly beneath his collar and hooking around his ears.
Beside him stood the head of his legal division, Conrad Hess, a shark-faced attorney with a stack of crimson-bound dossiers resting on an antique mahogany table.
"Your Honors," Arthur greeted the magistrates with a formal bow of his head as they entered the hall. "I apologize for the security protocols. As you are aware, my estranged son Daniel has engaged in an erratic and violent attempt to disrupt the execution of the family trust."
The lead magistrate, a severe woman with silver hair named Dr. Vogel, took her seat opposite him. "Herr Sterling, we are not here to adjudicate criminal warrants. The federal police are handling the search for your son. Our singular purpose this morning is to confirm the physical presence and genetic validity of the three direct heirs required under the 1948 Sterling Charter before the statutory deadline of noon."
"Of course," Arthur said smoothly, gesturing with his ivory cane toward the grand double doors leading to the medical pavilion. "The second grandson is resting comfortably in our medical suite under round-the-clock pediatric care. As for the other two..."
Arthur’s eyes flicked to the tall arched windows overlooking the driveway.
A solitary figure was walking up the gravel courtyard toward the main entrance.
It was Daniel.
He was unarmed. He wore a dark wool coat, his hands visible and empty at his sides. And walking beside him, holding his left hand with quiet courage, was Leo. Cradled securely in Daniel’s right arm was the bundle containing the newborn girl.
May you like
Arthur’s lips curved into a triumphant, predator’s smile.
"Right on time," Arthur whispered.
