The Shadow Emperor

Chapter Thirteen: The Lawyer

Jake called Diane Chen's office first thing the next morning. Her secretary was polite but firm—Ms. Chen's calendar was booked solid for the next three weeks.

"This is urgent," Jake said. "It's about the Harrison family trust and a potential wrongful death case. I think Ms. Chen would want to hear about it."

There was a pause. "Hold please."

Two minutes later, a woman's voice came on the line. "This is Diane Chen. You mentioned the Harrison family?"

"Yes. My wife is Lisa Harrison, the daughter of John and Sarah Harrison who died seven years ago. We have evidence suggesting her aunt, Margaret Harrison, was involved in their deaths and has been illegally controlling Lisa's inheritance."

Another pause. "That's quite an accusation. What kind of evidence?"

"Documentation from the original police investigation showing the accident was actually murder. Witness statements. Financial motive. We can provide details in person if you're interested."

"I'm interested. Can you come to my office this afternoon? Say, three o'clock?"

"We'll be there."

Jake hung up and turned to Lisa. "We have a meeting. Three o'clock today."

Lisa looked nervous. "What if she doesn't believe us? What if she thinks we're crazy?"

"Then we find someone else. But Chen took down the Blackwood family. She's not afraid of powerful people. That's exactly what we need."

They spent the morning preparing. Jake organized all their documentation—Brennan's files, Morrison's notes about Brandon's assault, financial records showing Margaret's control of the trust, and copies of the contracts Margaret had tried to force them to sign. Everything that painted a picture of Margaret's manipulation and possible murder.

Lisa wrote out a timeline of events, from her parents' deaths to the present day. Seeing it all laid out chronologically made the pattern of control even more obvious.

At two-thirty, they headed to Chen's office downtown. The building was impressive—forty stories of glass and steel. Chen & Associates occupied the entire twenty-eighth floor.

The receptionist led them to a conference room with a stunning view of the city. A few minutes later, Diane Chen walked in.

She was in her mid-forties, elegant and sharp-eyed, wearing a perfectly tailored suit. She shook their hands with a firm grip and got straight to business.

"Tell me everything," Chen said. "Start from the beginning."

Lisa told the story—her parents' deaths, Margaret becoming trustee, the years of manipulation and control, the scar and the broken engagement, the arranged marriage to Jake, everything. Jake added details about the contracts, the threats, and what he'd overheard Margaret say about "removing problems."

Chen listened without interrupting, taking occasional notes. When they finished, she was quiet for a long moment.

"You understand this will be expensive and difficult," Chen said finally. "Margaret Harrison has unlimited resources and excellent lawyers. She'll fight this with everything she has."

"We know," Lisa said.

"And the evidence of murder is circumstantial at best. A seven-year-old case with a retired detective who closed it as an accident? Any prosecutor would laugh us out of their office."

"We're not looking for a criminal case," Jake said. "Not yet. We're looking to challenge Margaret's trusteeship and get Lisa control of her inheritance. The evidence of possible murder is leverage."

Chen's eyebrows rose slightly. "Leverage. Interesting approach. You threaten to go public with evidence suggesting she killed her brother and sister-in-law unless she steps down as trustee."

"Exactly. Even if we can't prove it in court, the public accusation alone would destroy her reputation and possibly trigger a police investigation. She can't risk that."

"You've thought this through," Chen said, looking at Jake with renewed interest. "What do you do for a living, Mr. Rivera?"

"Until recently, I was Margaret's servant. Now I'm Lisa's partner in taking her down."

Chen almost smiled. "I like you. You're smart and you're angry. That's a good combination." She turned to Lisa. "And you're finally ready to fight back against your aunt?"

"More than ready," Lisa said. "She killed my parents. She's controlled my life for seven years. I want her to pay for what she's done."

Chen nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll take your case. But I need to be clear about costs. My retainer is fifty thousand dollars. Beyond that, I bill four hundred an hour. A case like this could easily run into the hundreds of thousands before we're done."

Jake's stomach dropped. Fifty thousand just to start. They had about one hundred forty thousand total, but they needed that for living expenses and security.

"Can we structure it differently?" Jake asked. "A lower retainer with contingency fees?"

"I don't usually work on contingency for trust cases," Chen said. "Too unpredictable."

"What if we can pay you twenty-five thousand now, and you take a percentage of what Lisa recovers?" Jake was thinking fast. "Her trust is worth at least eight million. If we win, you get fifteen percent. That's over a million dollars."

Chen considered this. "Twenty-five thousand upfront, fifteen percent of any settlement or judgment, and you cover all court costs and investigation expenses as they come up."

Jake looked at Lisa. Twenty-five thousand would leave them with about one hundred fifteen thousand. Minus rent and security, they'd have maybe two months of runway before they ran out of money. It was tight, but possible.

"Deal," Lisa said before Jake could respond.

They shook hands and spent the next hour going through all their documentation. Chen asked detailed questions, made extensive notes, and occasionally nodded in approval at evidence they'd gathered.

"This is better than I expected," Chen said finally. "You've done good preliminary work. Brennan's files are particularly valuable. The timing of events—the mechanic's convenient death, the missing evidence, Margaret's immediate consolidation of power—it all supports your theory."

"So we have a case?" Lisa asked.

"We have the foundation of one. I'll need to do more investigation, interview witnesses, and possibly hire a forensic accountant to look at the trust management. But yes, I believe we can challenge Margaret's trusteeship. Whether we can prove she murdered your parents... that's harder."

"Even proving financial mismanagement would be enough," Jake said. "If we can show she's been enriching herself at Lisa's expense, that she's violated her fiduciary duty, we can get her removed as trustee."

"Exactly. The murder allegations are our nuclear option. We hold that in reserve and use it only if necessary." Chen closed her notebook. "I'll file a petition with the probate court within the week, challenging Margaret's trusteeship on grounds of mismanagement and conflict of interest. That starts the clock. Once she's served, she'll have thirty days to respond."

"And then?" Lisa asked.

"Then we go to discovery. We get access to all the trust documents, financial records, and correspondence. We depose Margaret, depose other family members. We build our case piece by piece until we have enough to either force a settlement or win at trial."

"How long will this take?" Jake asked.

"Six months minimum. Could be a year or more if Margaret fights hard, which she will." Chen looked at them seriously. "You need to be prepared for a long battle. She'll try to destroy you both personally and financially. She'll dig up every piece of dirt she can find. She'll make your lives hell."

"She already has," Lisa said quietly. "We're ready."

Chen stood and extended her hand. "Then let's get started. I'll have my assistant draw up the representation agreement. Bring me a check for twenty-five thousand tomorrow, and we'll officially begin."

After they left Chen's office, Jake and Lisa stood on the sidewalk outside, the reality of what they'd just committed to sinking in.

"Twenty-five thousand dollars," Lisa said. "That's a lot of money."

"It's an investment," Jake said. "In your future. In our future."

"What if we lose? What if we run out of money before the case is finished?"

"We won't. We keep investing, keep growing our capital. MedTech's FDA approval should come through any day now. When it does, we'll have over a hundred thousand in profit. That buys us time."

A notification appeared: Weekly Mission Complete: Build Your Foundation. All tasks achieved. Reward: fifty MP, Intelligence plus five, Mystery Reward unlocked. New mission available: The Long Fight.

Jake felt the familiar sensation of knowledge flooding his mind. His Intelligence increased, his ability to process information and see patterns sharpening even further.

"We're going to win this," Jake said with sudden certainty. "Margaret's had seven years of unopposed control. She's gotten complacent. But we're hungry, we're motivated, and we have the truth on our side."

"The truth doesn't always win," Lisa said.

"It does if you fight hard enough for it."

They walked back to their car, hands linked, ready to begin the long battle ahead. Tomorrow they'd write the check to Diane Chen. Tomorrow their case would officially begin.

And tomorrow, Margaret Harrison would learn that her niece and worthless son-in-law weren't going to back down.