Rebirth: The Blind Heiress Makes A Deal With The Devil

The heavy doors of the courtroom clicked shut, sealing out the flashbulbs and the dull roar of the press outside.

Inside, the air felt cold. High ceilings, polished wood, and the faint smell of lemon polish.

Isabella sat beside Niko at the defense table, her fingers wrapped tight around the edge of her skirt. She couldn’t see the room, but she could feel the weight of it. She could feel Kian sitting across the aisle.

Kian sat tall, his hands resting flat on the dark wood of his table. He looked composed. Calm.

The fire at the facility had wiped out the eye drop evidence, and the morning report sitting inside Arthur’s leather folder gave him a firm grip on the case. For the first time since the divorce began, the room felt like it belonged to him.

Judge Daniel entered through the side door, his black robes rustling in the quiet room. He took his place at the bench, adjusted his glasses, and looked down at the papers spread before him.

"Let’s begin," Daniel said. His voice was flat, devoid of the sharp edge he usually carried.

"We are here for the third hearing on the matter of Carter versus Carter. Before we address the outstanding motions, the court has received the sealed report from the certified genetic lab."

Arthur stood up smoothly, buttoning his jacket. "Your Honor, the court-ordered non-invasive prenatal paternity test has been completed. The findings have been delivered to both parties."

Daniel nodded once. "The record will reflect that the report confirms Mr. Kian Carter as the biological father of the unborn child. The results are admitted into the official court file."

Kian didn’t move a muscle, but his jaw set. A quiet sense of control settled into his chest. He didn’t look over at Aaron. He didn’t need to.

The child was his. That single fact altered everything. It wasn’t just a marriage dispute anymore; it was a matter of parental rights, custody, and family law.

"Given this confirmation," Arthur said, his tone measured and easy, "we ask the court to stay any further proceedings regarding the immediate dissolution of the marriage. The child’s future rights, potential support, and custody arrangements must be fully resolved before this court can even consider ending the marital union."

Niko stood up from the defense table. "Objection, Your Honor. The pregnancy does not cancel the petitioner’s right to seek a divorce under state law. Parental rights can be handled in family court once the child is born. Holding my client hostage in an unwanted marriage simply because she is carrying a child is legally improper."

Judge Daniel leaned forward, resting his forearms on the bench. He didn’t look at Arthur, and he didn’t look at Daniel. His gaze stayed fixed on the papers.

"While Mr. Kazarov’s counsel is correct that a pregnancy does not bar a divorce," Daniel said slowly, "the court cannot ignore the sudden shift in circumstances. Mr. Carter has established a clear, direct legal interest in the welfare and future status of the family unit. I am inclined to grant the defense latitude. We will defer the final motion for dissolution and focus first on establishing proper arrangements."

A quiet shift went through the room.

Kian felt it instantly. The judge was giving them room to breathe. He was leaning their way. Nothing obvious, nothing that would draw an immediate appeal, but a clear, gentle nudge in Kian’s favor.

Arthur sat down, sharing a brief, unreadable glance with Kian. It was working. The private conversation, the quiet pressure, the threat to the judge’s daughter, it was all paying off.

"Now," Judge Daniel continued, tapping his pen against his ledger. "Regarding the physical evidence requested by the petitioner during the first hearing—specifically, the toxicology report on the eye drops provided by Mrs. Carter."

Arthur stood right back up. "Your Honor, as the news reported this morning, a tragic fire destroyed the Apex testing facility last night. All physical samples held at that location were lost. Since no verified state lab report exists, any allegations surrounding those eye drops remain unproven hearsay. We ask that the matter be dropped from the record entirely."

Kian sat back slightly, letting out a slow, quiet breath. It was clean. The evidence was gone, burnt to ash, and the judge was ready to sweep it away.

Daniel nodded slowly. "Regrettably, without a certified laboratory analysis, the court cannot draw conclusions regarding—"

"Your Honor," Niko interrupted, his voice calm, cutting cleanly across the quiet room.

"Before the court closes the issue of the evidence, the petitioner would like to submit a filing."

Arthur’s brow furrowed. He turned his head slightly, his eyes narrowing as he looked over at Niko. "Your Honor, there is no evidence left to submit. The facility was destroyed."

"The state facility was destroyed, yes," Niko said smoothly. He reached into his leather bag and pulled out a blue-bound folder, walking it forward to the clerk.

"However, prior to sending the primary sample to the state-monitored facility, my client preserved a secondary, sealed portion of the exact same medication under independent legal custody."

Kian’s chest tightened. His eyes snapped toward the defense table.

Sitting right beside Isabella, Aaron Kazarov hadn’t moved. He sat with his broad shoulders back, one hand resting on the table, his face completely calm.

He didn’t look triumphant. He didn’t look excited. He just looked bored.

"Objection!" Arthur’s voice rose sharply, a rare crack in his polished demeanor. "Your Honor, this is an out-of-order submission! We have had no notice of a secondary sample! Chain of custody cannot possibly be verified for a private sample held outside state protocol!"

"The chain of custody is fully documented, Your Honor," Niko countered, his tone cool and steady. "The sample was drawn directly from Mrs. Carter’s home by an independent, licensed medical officer in the presence of a notary public. It was delivered directly to an accredited university laboratory in Massachusetts."

Daniel took the blue folder from the clerk. He flipped it open, his gray eyes scanning the pages.

Silence fell over the courtroom. The only sound was the faint rustle of paper as the judge read.

Arthur stood rigid, his hand resting on the back of his chair. He didn’t know where this came from. He had checked the court registry himself.

He had traced the state log. He had paid Benji to delay the state report, and Kian had arranged for the lab to burn. They had covered every inch of the state’s pipeline.

They hadn’t even considered that Aaron had taken a second sample weeks ago.

"Your Honor," Arthur tried again, his voice dropping into a hard, urgent tone. "Even if a second sample exists, private lab results cannot be introduced at this stage without prior discovery—"

"The court will allow the submission for review," Judge Daniel cut in flatly. He didn’t look up from the page. "The laboratory certification is valid, and the chain of custody is notarized."

Daniel cleared his throat, reading aloud from the final page of the report.

"The chemical analysis reveals the presence of a concentrated organophosphate derivative within the solution, a compound not approved for ophthalmic use.

Medical review indicates that repeated administration of this compound may be associated with corneal inflammation and tissue injury, which could potentially result in progressive and irreversible impairment of corneal integrity and visual function.

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