Confidential

Chapter Six

The conference room at Howard Women’s & Children’s Center had never felt so cold.

Legal documents were spread across the table, thick folders, stapled affidavits, and the twenty-page complaint that had detonated their quiet world. Sari sat at the head of the table, her white coat replaced with a blazer, her hair pulled back in a sharp ponytail. She looked every bit the professional, except for the exhaustion shadowing her eyes.

Across from her sat Atty. Mariella David, twenty-nine, brilliant, and unapologetically direct. Her reputation stretched far beyond the legal circuit. She’d made her name defending women’s rights cases and taking on corporations twice her size, and somehow, winning.

She was the kind of lawyer people called when they had nowhere else to turn.

And right now, Sari had exactly that.

Mariella flipped through the complaint, her expression calm but unreadable. When she finally looked up, she didn’t waste time sugarcoating.

“This is bad,” she said plainly. “And I don’t mean ‘clean up the PR mess’ bad. I mean you’re up against a billionaire with a media empire, a political network, and an army of lawyers who eat cases like this for breakfast.”

Sari leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. “I didn’t fly thirteen hours to be coddled, Mariella. Just tell me what we’re looking at.”

The lawyer gave a half-smile, the kind that respected Sari’s directness. “Fine. He’s suing for twenty million dollars in damages. He’s claiming breach of patient confidentiality, negligence, and reputational harm. He’s also filed an injunction request to restrict the clinic’s operations until this is resolved. If that passes, you’ll be shut down temporarily.”

Sari’s jaw clenched. “That’s his play. To choke us financially until we settle.”

Mariella nodded. “Exactly. And he can afford to drag this out. You can’t.”

She leaned forward, her tone softening but her words still sharp. “Sari, I’ve read everything, your protocols, the staff affidavits, the server audit logs. There’s no direct evidence that anyone from your clinic leaked the information. But the problem is optics. He controls the narrative. The media already painted him as the victim.”

Sari scoffed. “The victim? The man owns half the entertainment industry. If anyone leaked anything, it’s his own people trying to spin his image.”

Mariella gave a small shrug. “You could be right. But in court, truth doesn’t always win. Power does. Influence does. And he has both.”

Sari’s expression stayed firm, but the flicker of worry in her eyes betrayed her. “So what do you suggest? We fight?”

Mariella sighed, closing the file. “That’s what I do best. But this case could take years. The moment we enter litigation, every private client your clinic’s ever handled could be dragged into the spotlight. The Elizalde team and Ardent Lex, their legal counsel will dig into your history, your finances, your confidential records. If they find anything, even a trace of this ‘discreet’ operation, it’ll destroy you in discovery.”

Sari was silent. The thought of her father, already fragile, being torn apart by public scandal made her stomach twist.

Mariella watched her closely. “You’re a fighter, Sari. I get that. But sometimes fighting head-on isn’t strategy, it’s suicide.”

Sari exhaled slowly. “Then what’s your recommendation?”

Mariella hesitated, then said it. “We try to resolve this privately. Reach out to him. Negotiate.”

Sari stared at her, incredulous. “You’re suggesting I talk to Matthew Elizalde?”

“Yes,” Mariella said simply. “Man to man, or in your case, woman to man. He’s suing you because he wants control back, not necessarily money. If you meet him, maybe you can find a way to de-escalate this before it reaches court.”

Sari’s laugh was dry, humorless. “You’ve seen what kind of person he is. He thrives on control. The man has an ego the size of his net worth.”

“Exactly,” Mariella replied. “Which means appealing to logic might not work, but appealing to his pride just might.”

Sari frowned. “I don’t play games.”

Mariella smirked faintly. “Then consider it negotiation. Look, Sari, this isn’t about liking him. It’s about survival. If you don’t stop this before it hits trial, your family’s clinic will bleed out before you even make your opening statement.”

The words landed hard.

Sari looked down at the file in front of her, the name Elizalde vs. Howard Women’s & Children’s Center stamped across the top like a brand.

She hated the sound of it.

Finally, she said quietly, “If I do this, it’s not to beg. It’s to end this before it destroys everything.”

Mariella gave a small, approving nod. “Good. Because you’re not begging. You’re protecting your mother’s legacy.”

Sari met her gaze, eyes steady now. “How do I reach him?”

“I’ll make the call,” Mariella said, already flipping open her phone. “But fair warning, men like him don’t take meetings they don’t control. You’ll have to go to him.”

Sari stood, gathering the files into a neat stack. “Fine. Let him think he’s in control. For now.”

As she walked to the door, Mariella’s voice followed her.

“Be careful, Sari. Matthew Elizalde doesn’t just win. He consumes.”

Sari paused at the door, glancing back with the faintest hint of a smirk. “Then he’s about to learn I’m not easy to swallow.”

She stepped out, the sound of her heels echoing through the quiet corridor.

And for the first time since the lawsuit began, Czarina Howard wasn’t just reacting, she was planning.