Sterling marched back into the conference room, looking as though he had just swallowed glass.
Warren followed right behind him, his face flushed a dangerous shade of crimson.
Jasmine trailed in last, loudly complaining about the temperature in the room and demanding to know how much longer this pointless exercise was going to take.
Malik slipped back into the room right behind them, carrying two bottles of water from the vending machine.
He sat down next to me, unscrewing a cap and taking a casual sip, looking entirely unbothered by the sheer panic radiating from the opposing legal council.
Sterling remained standing at the head of the granite table.
He did not sit down.
He aggressively shuffled his legal pads, shoving the forged promisory note back into his leather briefcase with jerky, uncoordinated movements.
We are concluding this deposition for the day, Sterling announced his voice tight and clipped.
We have established everything we need regarding the defendant’s absolute refusal to honor her financial obligations.
We will be moving forward with the summary judgement hearing on Friday.
My client will not be answering any further questions regarding his corporate structure as it is entirely irrelevant to this personal property dispute.
Warren glared at me, his chest heaving slightly.
He knew he had made a colossal mistake by boasting about his corporate wire transfers on the official record, but his ego refused to let him back down.
He pointed a thick finger at me across the table.
I will see you in front of the judge, Khloe.
Bring your house keys.
You are going to hand them directly to the baiff.
Malik slowly screwed the cap back onto his water bottle.
He reached down into his scuffed, seemingly disorganized leather messenger bag.
He did not pull out a notepad.
He did not pull out a legal motion to counter their claims.
He pulled out a single crisp piece of heavy stock paper.
Before we officially conclude for the record, Malik said his voice dropping the facade of the bumbling discount lawyer and ringing out with sharp terrifying authority.
As an officer of the court, I have an ethical obligation to disclose a material change in the financial circumstances of the parties involved in this property dispute.
Sterling froze his hand, hovering over the clasp of his briefcase.
“What are you talking about?
We are done here.”
Malik ignored him.
He extended his arm and slid the single piece of paper face down across the smooth granite surface.
It glided perfectly, coming to a dead stop, right in front of Sterling’s hands.
“A courtesy copy,” Malik said smoothly.
Smoothly, leaning back in his chair and resting his hands on the table.
Sterling frowned, visibly annoyed by what he assumed was a desperate last minute delay tactic.
He picked up the paper and flipped it over.
I watched the high-priced aggressive bulldog lawyer read the header of the document.
I watched his eyes scan the first paragraph.
I watched the blood completely drain from his face, leaving his skin in ash and sickly gray.
His hands began to visibly shake, causing the paper to rattle.
In the quiet room, Warren noticed his lawyer’s sudden paralysis.
What is it, Sterling?
What did that hack just hand you?
Sterling could not speak.
He literally could not form the words.
He slowly lowered the paper to the table, staring at Todd with a look of absolute unadulterated horror.
It was not a motion to dismiss.
It was not a counter lawsuit regarding the townhouse.
It was an official expedited audit notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
The document formally announced a sweeping federal investigation into Todd’s tech startup for massive investor fraud, wire fraud, and the illegal misappropriation of venture capital funds.
The document explicitly stated that the primary creditor of the company had initiated a hostile debt recall, triggering the immediate federal freeze of every single asset attached to Todd’s name.
Warren snatched the paper from the table.
He read the bold federal seal at the top.
He read the name of his golden son-in-laws company.
He read the words federal wire fraud and asset seizure.
Sterling slowly turned his head to look at Malik and then for the first time all day he looked directly at me.
He did not see a terrified tax clerk anymore.
He saw the trap closing around his client’s throat.
He realized that this was never a family property dispute.
It was a targeted demolition.
The heavy mahogany doors of courtroom 4B swung open with a resounding thud.
Warren marched down the center aisle of the gallery, wearing a charcoal bespoke suit, and projecting the absolute certainty of a man who believed the justice system was simply another subsidiary of his real estate empire.
