Chapter 12 - THE JUDGE’S OFFER
Bella stepped toward the cries before Lilith caught her hand.
“They’re here,” Bella whispered.
“No,” Lilith said. “They’re with you. Feel them.”
Bella pressed her palm against her stomach and took a breath. She heard the cries again and stayed where she was.
A woman appeared in the doorway, dressed in an ordinary gray coat. Her face was calm. The collector bowed his head.
“I keep the contracts,” the woman said. “William Norman, do you challenge yours?”
“I do.”
“Then enter.”
Bella moved with him. The judge raised a hand. “The Mercer witness may enter. Lilith remains.”
William looked back. Lilith’s jaw tightened, but she nodded.
On the other side was a plain room with a table and three chairs. The judge laid out the original contract. William’s ancestor had signed it. Beneath his name were the signatures of heirs who had renewed it. William’s father was the last.
“The fortune is yours to surrender,” the judge told William. “But the heirs conceived while this contract stood are subject to it.”
Bella gripped the edge of the table. “My babies didn’t sign.”
“Neither did William, when he was born.”
“Then tell us how to end that part.”
The judge looked at Bella. “You may take their place. Stay here, and they will be born free.”
William stood so fast his chair fell. “No.”
The judge waited for Bella’s answer.
From outside came a crash, then Lilith shouting William’s name. The door swung open a few inches. Adrian had the iron box in his hands.
The judge rose. “He has opened a second claim.”
“What does he want?” Bella asked.
May you like
The judge’s face changed for the first time.
“Your children.”
