Chapter 17 - The First Client
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Maya sat across from the sixteen-year-old girl in the small, quiet consultation room.
The girl was staring at her worn shoes, her hands trembling violently in her lap.
“You don't have to talk until you're ready,” Maya said gently, offering a warm smile.
“If I talk, he'll find out,” the girl whispered, terrified.
“He won't.”
“You don't know my stepdad. He knows everything. He controls all the money. He told my mom that if we try to leave, he'll make sure she goes to jail.”
Maya felt a cold, familiar anger rising in her chest.
It was the exact same tactic Victoria and Charles had used for years.
Weaponized fear masked as authority.
“Listen to me, Chloe,” Maya said, leaning forward and lowering her voice. “My name is Maya. And a long time ago, I lived in a massive house with people who had a lot of money and a terrifying amount of power.”
Chloe looked up, her eyes wide with surprise.
“They told me and my brother that we were nothing,” Maya continued. “They told us that if we didn't do exactly what they said, we would be thrown out on the street and absolutely no one would ever believe us.”
“What happened?”
“Someone stood up for us. Someone who wasn't afraid of their money or their empty threats.”
“Who?”
“My dad,” Maya smiled proudly. “And now, I work for his foundation. Which means I'm here to stand up for you.”
Chloe wiped a tear from her cheek, her posture relaxing slightly.
“Are you a real lawyer?”
“I'm in my final year of law school, working under a supervising attorney,” Maya explained. “But I promise you, I know exactly how to handle men who think their bank accounts make them invincible.”
Chloe hesitated, then reached into her heavy backpack.
She pulled out a crumpled stack of hidden bank statements.
“He hides the money here,” Chloe whispered.
Maya took the papers, smoothing them out on the desk and scanning the highlighted numbers.
May you like
The pattern of financial coercion was obvious.
“My supervising attorney is going to file an emergency injunction tomorrow morning,” Maya said, her voice steady and reassuring. “By noon, your stepfather won't be able to touch a single cent of your mother's rightful assets. You are not alone anymore.”
