Chapter 4 - The Legal Gambit
By noon, Ethan’s private legal team had arrived at the estate. Six attorneys in identical dark suits sat around the glass conference table in the upper library, their laptops open, screens flashing with corporate registries and banking transactions. At the head of the table stood Sarah Jenkins, a legendary corporate litigator known as the "Ice Queen" of the West Coast.
"Here is the tactical layout, Miss Montgomery," Sarah said, tapping a stylus against a digital whiteboard showing the corporate structure of Montgomery Logistics. "Your stepmother has committed multiple counts of grand larceny, wire fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty. We have already obtained copies of the original trust documents from your father’s former attorney, who was quietly forced into retirement by Victoria three years ago."
"Can we arrest her now?" Aria asked, her fingers tightly interwoven.
"We could," Ethan intervened, leaning against the window frame, a glass of iced water in his hand. "But simple criminal charges allow her to file for bail, tie the case up in appellate courts for years, and use company funds to pay her legal fees. That is inefficient. We want a clean, total corporate decapitation."
Sarah nodded in agreement with Ethan. "Tomorrow evening is the annual Pacific Logistics Gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Victoria has invited the entire West Coast elite to watch her announce the merger between Montgomery Logistics and Vance Industries. She believes you are hiding with a friend or too terrified to show your face."
"She thinks she can announce the deal without me?" Aria asked.
"She has forged your signature on the preliminary proxy statements," Sarah revealed, displaying a document on the screen. The signature at the bottom read Aria Montgomery, but the loop of the 'M' was distinctly different from Aria’s actual handwriting. "She intends to claim you are indisposed due to 'sudden illness' and that she is acting as your legal guardian under an outdated power of attorney."
Aria stood up, her bandaged feet throbbing slightly, but her posture unyielding. "Then I need to be at that gala."
"You won't just be there, Miss Montgomery," Ethan said, walking over to her, his presence dominating the room. "You will walk into that ballroom as my guest. You will let her deliver her grand speech, let her celebrate her triumph in front of the cameras, and right when she prepares to sign the final contract... you will pull the rug out from beneath her feet."
"What do you need me to do?" Aria asked, looking directly into his dark eyes.
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"Tomorrow morning, you will sign a power of attorney transferring the management rights of your forty-nine percent share of the company to Cross Capital Holdings," Ethan explained. "With my existing shares in the distribution network, that gives us an absolute fifty-five percent majority. We will execute an emergency board meeting right on the stage of the gala, terminate Victoria’s employment as CEO, and have federal marshals waiting in the wings to take her into custody."
Aria felt a thrill of anticipation run through her veins. "Let’s do it."
