Chapter 7 - The Deposition
The grand conference room at Naomi's law firm was suffocatingly tense. Lily sat across from me, wearing a cheap, plain outfit designed to make her look sympathetic, flanked by her aggressive lawyer, Richard Vance. She looked smug, believing her lawsuit would force me into a multi-million dollar settlement just to avoid a public PR nightmare.
"Let’s be reasonable here, Claire," Richard Vance said, leaning back in his leather chair, a patronizing smile on his face. "My client is a young, vulnerable mother with absolutely no income. If you grant her a lump sum of ten million dollars from the family trust, we will immediately drop the undue influence lawsuit, and she will disappear from your life forever. Otherwise, we go to trial, and we will drag your late father’s private life and his business dealings through the absolute mud."
I didn't say a single word. I simply slid the black flash drive across the polished mahogany table.
"What is this?" the lawyer asked, his brow furrowing as he looked at the drive.
"That," Naomi spoke up, her voice sharp as a razor, "is a comprehensive criminal dossier detailing your client’s systematic embezzlement of charity funds. It includes signed wire transfers, IP login details, and a signed confession letter written by Lily herself to her father four years ago."
Lily’s smug expression instantly shattered. Her face turned a sickly shade of grey.
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"If you proceed with this fraudulent lawsuit," I said, leaning forward, my eyes locking onto my sister's trembling gaze, "we will hand this drive directly to the state prosecutor. Embezzlement from a registered charity carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in state prison. So, Lily, you have a very simple choice. You can drop this pathetic lawsuit and try to raise your son honestly, or you can go to prison and let the foster care system raise him for you."
Richard Vance looked at his client, saw the absolute terror written all over her face, and slowly closed his laptop. "We withdraw the motion," he muttered, standing up and walking out of the room, leaving Lily completely abandoned and sobbing in her chair.
