Strange Bedfellows
~ ch. 13, continued ~
Judge Cho was two hours deep
into his interview with Dara and Stefan when the sound of a familiar voice just
outside the door interrupted the proceedings.
Stefan rose and faced the
door. “Come in, Mother,” he
invited, relieving the guard of his uncomfortable task.
Stefan gave the older woman a wry smile.
“You are late.”
Helena Cassadine ignored her
youngest son’s verbal dig and addressed the judge.
“It seems that my son has neglected to notify me of this hearing.”
“And yet, here you are,”
Stefan observed.
To anyone observing the pair
as they exchanged quips, it was apparent that Helena Cassadine and her youngest
son were outwardly quite different. Where
Stefan dressed in somber tones that deflected the aura of wealth and power that
surrounded him, Helena embraced her affluence with open arms.
Her designer clothes fairly screamed of exclusivity.
“I have brought,” Helena
gestured behind her, “a far more suitable candidate for the position of
Trustee of the Cassadine Family coffers.”
An expressionless older man stepped forward. “This is Aristide Cassadine.
He is also an attorney. But he
has the advantage of having previously served the family.”
Judge Cho looked over his
reading glasses at Helena. “You
wish to present a challenge to the current candidate?”
“Yes.”
Stefan cleared his throat.
“There is no need to entertain my mother’s challenge, Your Honor.
The situation can be resolved quite simply.”
He directed the judge’s attention to the thick sheaf of papers in the
center of the desk. “The original
Doctrine of Trusteeship contains a codicil that allows for the Prince to decide
between suitable candidates for the position.
I need only summon my nephew Nikolas and have him choose.”
Aristide Cassadine spoke up
for the first time. “It is
correct that such a provision exists in the Doctrine,” he confirmed for Judge
Cho. “But,” he turned
apologetically to Dara, “in this case no such choice can be made. Stefan’s young American attorney does not qualify as
suitable.”
“My familiarity with the
Doctrine is not as great as your own,” Judge Cho observed.
“But I can say with certainty that in the course of my reading of the
document, there is nothing written there that precludes Miss Jensen as a
candidate based on her age, her nationality, nor her ethnicity.”
“Oh, no! You misunderstand
me,” the former Cassadine family attorney hastened to explain.
He heard the faint note of warning in the magistrate’s voice.
“Miss Jensen does not qualify for the position of Trustee for one very
simple reason.”
“She is not a member of the
Cassadine family.”
