Chapter 14 - The Final Ledger
It didn't take twelve days. It took forty minutes.
Julian Vance tried to interrupt twice, citing jurisdiction and preemptive corporate transfers, but every time he opened his mouth, Enzo didn't raise his voice—he simply turned another page of the surveyor’s notebook and read aloud the exact date, the exact dollar amount, and the exact name of the county official who had taken Marco Falcone’s money sixty years ago to bury the original water rights under an assumed name.
When Enzo finished reading the final entry—the one detailing the mortgage on the Boston docks that his father had paid off with his own blood four days before the mill burned—the courtroom was so quiet they could hear the rain tapping against the tall leaded windows.
The judge adjusted his spectacles, looked down at Vance, and then back at Enzo.
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"The petition is dismissed," the judge said, his gavel coming down with a dry, satisfying crack that rattled the inkwells on the bench. "The trust remains with the lineal descendant of Arthur Pike and Enzo Falcone. If Mr. Marco Falcone wishes to contest the ruling, he is welcome to appear in this court in person."
Vance didn't say a word. He packed his Montblanc pen into his leather case, snapped the latches shut with a sharp double click, and walked out the side door without looking at either of them.
