Chapter 2 – Custody on the Line
**Rainport Family Court – 6:58 a.m.**
“Serena Shi, petitioning for restoration of parental rights,” her voice echoed in the near-empty courtroom.
The clerk looked up. “You’re early. Judge Evers doesn’t take the bench until eight.”
“I like to prepare.”
Serena turned and settled into the front bench. She laid out sealed evidence folders—DNA results, birth records, foreign embassy certifications, Interpol witness statements. Then, gently, she placed Willow’s kindergarten drawing atop the stack.
By 7:42 a.m., the courtroom buzzed.
A social worker entered, flanked by state attorneys and child welfare officers. Whispers followed her.
“That’s the woman who faked her death.”
“She has a child?”
“Isn’t she supposed to be in Europe?”
Serena stood, spine straight. She greeted the social worker with a measured nod. “Miss Chen.”
Chen didn’t return the courtesy. “We have a death certificate with your name on it.”
“You also have my living, breathing daughter in your database,” Serena replied coolly. “Whom you placed in a foster group despite matching DNA markers.”
A voice behind interrupted. “That placement was provisional.”
All heads turned.
Judge Evers, coffee in hand, had arrived early.
He gestured toward the bench. “Let’s make it official, shall we?”
**Court in Session**
“Ms. Shi,” Judge Evers began, “you claim guardianship over Willow Shi, age five. You allege she was declared dead alongside you in an overseas vehicular incident.”
“Incorrect,” Serena said. “I never filed my own death certificate. That falsified claim was submitted by third parties without medical verification. The body in question was never identified. And Willow was never legally registered in that jurisdiction.”
Evers arched a brow. “You’ve prepared.”
“Would you like the receipts chronologically or by category?”
The courtroom tittered.
“Let’s start with DNA.”
Serena slid the sealed envelope across. “Both maternal and paternal matches. Maternal matches are conclusive. Paternal… sealed, for now.”
The social worker leaned forward. “Your reappearance is highly irregular. How do we know this isn’t some strategic ploy?”
“Ploy?” Serena’s tone iced. “I have spent five years rebuilding an identity after nearly dying in a fire orchestrated by my own sister. I buried my name. I erased my fingerprints. I lived as a ghost to protect my child. If I wanted leverage, I would’ve knocked on LuTech’s boardroom, not Family Court.”
The judge nodded slowly. “Do you have proof you carried this child?”
Serena opened a battered medical folder. “This file contains sonogram images, pre-natal care receipts, and post-birth immunization records. All with dates consistent with Willow’s known age.”
Evers reviewed the documents silently.
Across the aisle, Miss Chen’s phone buzzed. She stepped aside, whispered urgently, then returned.
“Your Honor,” she said, eyes flicking toward Serena, “we’ve just been informed that LuTech’s legal team has entered an advisory role in this hearing. They’re… on their way.”
Serena didn’t flinch, but her fingers tensed.
Of course he would come.
**Five Minutes Later**
The double doors swung open. Julian Lu entered, flanked by two lawyers and a man in a gray suit carrying a leather folio.
Every flashbulb in the corridor must’ve gone off when he stepped inside.
He didn’t look at anyone—until he looked at her.
His eyes locked with Serena’s. One beat. Two.
His lips parted, uncertain.
Her face didn’t move.
“Mr. Lu,” the judge said sharply. “This isn’t a custody battle between private parties. Unless you’re filing for guardianship—”
“I’m here to provide context, not claim rights,” Julian said. His voice was smooth but tight. “Willow’s care was previously managed under my foundation’s emergency shelter program. I was told she had no surviving family.”
“She did,” Serena said flatly. “She has me.”
The judge nodded. “So noted.”
Julian turned to Serena. “Why didn’t you come to me?”
She stared him down. “I came to court.”
**Ten Minutes Later – Ruling**
“I find sufficient preliminary evidence,” Judge Evers concluded, “to grant temporary full custody to Ms. Shi, pending monthly welfare reviews by the state. The child will be released into her care today.”
The gavel dropped.
Serena exhaled.
**Outside the Courthouse**
A blizzard of reporters engulfed the courthouse steps. Cameras clicked. Microphones shoved toward her face.
“Ms. Shi, where have you been for five years?”
“Is it true you faked a pregnancy and a death?”
“Is Willow Lu’s daughter?”
Serena pulled Willow closer, shielding her with one arm and the music box with the other.
“No comment,” she said. “Make way.”
Flashbulbs flared.
**Across the Street – Inside a Black Limousine**
Julian watched the scene unfold. His phone buzzed.
Peter’s voice came through. “We’ve confirmed facial match and DNA lineages. We also found immigration records. Serena Lang entered Monaco two weeks after your wife’s funeral.”
He stared at Serena’s form as she moved through the crowd, graceful and guarded.
“That’s not Serena Lang,” Julian murmured. “That’s her.”
Peter paused. “Sir?”
Julian leaned forward. “Pull every sealed record we have on the accident. I want medical reports, funeral arrangements, offshore filings. Start with Vivian.”
“Yes, sir.”
He ended the call.
Inside his jacket pocket, a velvet ring box weighed heavy. The one he’d thrown into the South Sea, retrieved five months later—kept, unopened.
He finally looked down at it.
His voice was quiet but cold.
“I buried the wrong woman.”