Chapter 5 - THE BATTLE OF WILLS
-18
The threat hung in the alpine air like a ticking bomb.
Seventy-two hours. That was all the time we had before old Arthur Vale used his formidable political and international influence to weaponize the Swiss legal system against us. Even though Sebastian was the designated heir to Vale Industries, the patriarchal structure of the family meant that the patriarch still held immense sway over the corporate board and select European magistrates.
By sunrise, the chalet had transformed into a high-tech command center.
Sebastian sat in the glass-walled study overlooking the valley, surrounded by multiple monitors displaying encrypted data feeds, corporate legal filings, and security camera footage of the chalet's perimeter. He hadn't slept a wink. Dark circles shadowed his gray eyes, and his hair was ruffled from running his hands through it a hundred times over the course of the night.
I pushed the heavy oak door open, carrying a fresh cup of black coffee and a plate of toast.
"You need to eat," I said, setting the plate down beside his keyboard without asking permission.
Sebastian looked up from his screens, blinking against the sudden brightness of the room. He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a tired sigh. "I don't have time to eat, Alyssa. Grandfather’s legal team in Geneva just filed an emergency motion with the canton court claiming the children were removed from their primary legal residence under false pretenses. If the judge signs off on the ex-parte injunction by tomorrow afternoon, local law enforcement will be legally obligated to escort them back to Chicago."
I pulled up a leather armchair, sitting down directly across from him, crossing my arms over my chest. "Then we fight them in court. We present the birth certificates, the medical records from their premature birth, and the proof that you were deliberately lied to about their existence for four years."
"It won't work," Sebastian said, his voice grim. "Arthur controls the judges in this canton through a web of shadow investments and charitable endowments. A standard custody hearing here is a rigged game before we even step into the courtroom."
"Then what do we do, Sebastian?" I demanded, leaning forward, my voice rising in frustration. "Just sit here and wait for the police to kick the doors down? Are we going to run again? Hop another private jet to another mountain? Is that what my children's lives are going to be—perpetual fugitives running from a bitter old man with a god complex?"
"No," Sebastian said, his gray eyes locking onto mine with an absolute, terrifying certainty. "We aren't running. We're going to cut off the head of the snake."
I stared at him, my breath catching. "What does that mean?"
"It means I’m calling a full emergency meeting of the Vale Industries board of directors," Sebastian said, tapping a key on his console to pull up a secure video-conferencing grid. "For four years, my grandfather has maintained control by keeping the board terrified of his ruthlessness. But he made a mistake last night. In his haste to file that injunction, he authorized a multi-million-dollar corporate asset transfer from the primary philanthropic trust to fund his personal legal crusade."
He turned the monitor toward me, pointing at a highlighted line of financial code.
"Embezzlement of trust funds for private litigation," I whispered, my analytical mind immediately grasping the implications. "That's a federal felony in the US, and a direct violation of Swiss corporate governance codes."
"Exactly," Sebastian smiled—a dark, humorless expression that looked terrifyingly like his grandfather's. "Arthur thought he could use the family corporation as his personal sword. But the moment the board sees these wire transfers, his own directors will vote him out of power to protect themselves from criminal liability. Without his corporate title, he’s just an angry old man with no legal standing to touch my children."
"And if he doesn't go quietly?" I asked, the motherly protective instinct in my chest refusing to let me blindly trust a corporate coup. "Men like Arthur Vale don't just roll over when you take their toys away."
"If he doesn't go quietly," Sebastian said softly, standing up from his desk and walking over to stand right in front of my chair, "I will burn the entire corporate empire to the ground and walk away with you and the kids. I don't care about the money, Alyssa. I never did. The only legacy I care about is sleeping right down the hall."
My throat tightened. The words were so heavy, so completely at odds with the bitter, spiteful man who had told me our marriage was a mistake inside a Chicago courthouse four years ago.
Before I could answer, a soft knock echoed at the study door, and Chloe poked her head in, looking pale and deeply shaken.
May you like
"Alyssa... Sebastian," Chloe whispered. "You need to come to the nursery right now. Noah... Noah’s breathing is acting weird, and he’s burning up with a fever."
The corporate war, the Vales, the Swiss courts—everything vanished in a single microsecond. I bolted out of the chair, shoving past Sebastian, and sprinted down the hallway toward the West Wing nursery, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
