Chapter 9 - The Meeting at the Diner
At 2:00 p.m. that afternoon, Maya arrived at a small, remote diner thirty miles outside Boone. She wore a sharp charcoal blazer, her long hair pulled back into a severe ponytail, carrying a heavy leather briefcase.
She slid into the booth across from me and Drew, sliding a fresh cup of black coffee toward herself.
“I’ve reviewed the files,” Maya said without preamble. “Nora didn’t just breach her ethical boundaries; she committed civil conspiracy, extortion, and fraudulent inducement.”
“Can we stop the smear campaign?” I asked.
“Stop it?” Maya raised an eyebrow, a predatory smirk touching her lips. “Mason, darling, we aren’t just going to stop it. We are going to rip their heads off in open court. But you need to understand something: Nora and Richard think they’re holding all the cards because they went public first. In the court of public opinion, the first person to cry usually wins the opening round. But the law doesn't care about TikTok tears. The law cares about paper.”
She pulled out a freshly drafted legal document.
“This is an emergency ex parte motion for an injunction against Nora Caldwell for breach of nondisclosure, harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. But here’s the kicker: I also drafted a subpoena for Richard Vance’s corporate bank records.”
“On what grounds?” Drew asked.
“On the grounds that Richard used third-party agents—namely Nora and her mother—to attempt to unlawfully coerce the transfer of Arthur Vance’s testamentary trust fund,” Maya said, her eyes flashing like steel. “Your grandfather was very smart, Mason. Arthur’s will had an anti-tampering clause. If Richard ever attempted to exert financial or psychological coercion to manipulate the beneficiary into dissolving the trust, Richard’s own share of the family timber royalties would be immediately forfeited and reallocated to you.”
My breath caught in my throat. “Richard had a royalty share?”
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“Two hundred thousand dollars a year,” Maya said smoothly. “It’s what’s been keeping his head above water while his development company sinks. If we file this, we don't just protect you. We cut off his oxygen entirely.”
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