Chapter 28 - The Legal Strategy
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The boardroom of my father’s corporate legal firm in downtown Philadelphia was intimidating, but I no longer felt out of place there. Elena and I sat at the center of the massive mahogany table, surrounded by three of the sharpest corporate litigators money could buy.
Marcus, the lead attorney, adjusted his tie and looked over the copious notes Elena had compiled from Sarah Jenkins's testimony and Julian's historical research.
"This is an incredibly audacious strategy, Amelia," Marcus said, leaning back in his leather chair. "You are proposing that we use a 19th-century historical ledger to establish a pattern of corrupt corporate behavior, in order to break a modern, ironclad Non-Disclosure Agreement."
"It’s not just a pattern, Marcus," Elena argued fiercely, tapping the glass table. "It is the exact same corporate DNA. Arthur Sterling is using shell companies modeled precisely after the ones in the ledger. We can prove that his NDA was forced upon Sarah to cover up active, ongoing real estate fraud. That invalidates the contract under state law."
"If we file this suit," Marcus warned, his eyes grave, "Sterling will retaliate with everything he has. He will file massive defamation countersuits. He will attempt to drag your foundation, and your family's name, through the mud. It will be a bloodbath."
"Let him try," my father’s voice boomed as he walked into the boardroom, taking a seat beside me. He placed a supportive, heavy hand on my shoulder. "The Grant family has limitless resources, and we are putting every single cent behind my daughter and this foundation. We do not bow to bullies."
I smiled at my father, feeling an overwhelming rush of gratitude.
"Marcus, we aren't just filing a lawsuit," I stated, looking the lead attorney dead in the eye. "We are going to bait him. We are going to announce a public exhibition at the museum featuring the newly discovered Obsidian Ledger. We will highlight the history of corporate coercion of women in Philadelphia."
Marcus’s eyebrows shot up. "You are going to provoke him in public?"
"We are going to force him to make a mistake," I corrected, a cold, strategic smile forming on my lips. "Arthur Sterling is obsessed with his family's pristine legacy. If we threaten it publicly, he will panic. And panicked billionaires always leave a messy paper trail."
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Elena grinned, recognizing the brilliant, ruthless tactic. "We prepare the injunctions to protect Sarah. When Arthur moves to shut down the exhibition, we hit him with the federal fraud lawsuit."
"Draft the papers, Marcus," my father ordered proudly. "My daughter has a museum exhibition to plan."
