Chapter 6 - The Shark
The next morning, using the emergency trust fund Grandpa had secretly attached to the cabin's deed, I hired Victoria Sterling, the most feared personal injury and civil litigation lawyer in the state. She was a shark in a tailored Chanel suit, known for completely dismantling powerful families in court.
I sat in her sleek glass office, sliding the USB drive from Liam and Grandpa's journals across her mahogany desk.
Victoria plugged the drive into her laptop, watched the video of the push, and then spent twenty minutes reading the journals. When she looked up, her eyes were gleaming with predatory excitement.
"Clara," Victoria said, leaning back and steepling her fingers. "The criminal case is already a slam dunk. The DA is charging her with felony assault. But we aren't just going to put her in jail. We are going to bleed them dry."
"I don't want their money," I said. "I want them to pay."
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"Money is how people like your uncle keep score," Victoria corrected gently. "We are filing a massive civil suit for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and lifelong medical damages. We are naming Chloe, your Uncle David, and your mother in the suit. We will freeze their assets. By the time I am done with them, they won't be able to afford a country club membership, let alone a designer wedding gown."
A slow, fierce smile spread across my face. For the first time in my life, I wasn't just surviving. I was fighting back.
