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Chapter Fourty Eight

last update Last Updated: 2026-01-07 18:30:58
Dominic's POV

The morning after Nassau put the charges on the table, the penthouse felt too small for the noise in my head. I went straight to the office. I needed paper and people and a rhythm. I needed the work to keep me honest.

Percival met me at the door. He held a tablet with three open windows. “We have movement in the markets,” he said. “The firm put out a denial but markets are nervous. Some board members are asking for a special meeting. One wants a leadership review.”

“Call the meeting,” I said. “Set it for noon. Bring counsel and the audit lead. Keep it calm.”

He did. He already had the room when I walked in. The others arrived in the usual blur: chairs, thin files, practiced faces. I sat and let them look at me like I was the axis.

“Dominic,” the chair said. “This is serious. The investor is charged. The firm denies. Our stock is down. People want answers. Some of us think a leadership review is prudent.”

I listened. I let the room air out. Then I spoke.

“We will be transp
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  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Fifty Two

    Percival's POVI started the evening with the privilege log open on my screen. Pages, names, dates. I made lists the way I liked them: precise, ordered, short. The judge would read this and a messy log would cost us time. I did not want time wasted.Laurent knocked and came in with two coffees. He set one down without asking.“Ready?” he said.“As I’ll ever be,” I replied. I pushed the first draft across the desk. “I want this tight. No vague entries. If we claim privilege, we list the document, the custodian, the date, and the specific privilege rule. No more.”He skimmed. “Good. You cut the fluff.”“I cut it because fluff invites argument,” I said. “If they challenge a line, we respond with fact, not opinion.”Ms. Alvarez joined on a call from the office and listened while I read two lines aloud for her. She did not interrupt except to note a clause.“Make sure you reference the chain-of-custody logs where the documents moved to forensics,” she said. “The judge will want to know ori

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Fifty One

    Dominic's POVI woke before dawn and read the overnight brief on my phone. The markets had been jittery, but the real pressure was in the creditor list that wanted answers. The CFO had called an emergency meeting. I dressed and went in with two thoughts: be clear, and do not let panic become policy.Percival met me in the conference room and handed me a cup of coffee. He did not smile. He never smiled when he had a stack of motions on his desk. I set my cup down and looked at the faces arriving: senior finance, a couple of major creditors, the audit lead. They all had the same look—people who handled numbers for a living and suddenly felt the ground move under them.“We appreciate you coming,” the chair said as I took my place at the head of the table. “We need to understand exposure. There’s talk of frozen lines abroad. We need to know how liquid we are and what contingencies you have.”I nodded. “You will get facts,” I said. “We will not speculate. We will show you what counsel has

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Fifty

    Elena's POVI drove to the clinic early because the volunteer asked to meet before the day got busy. I sat in the small waiting room and watched the light move across the tiles. My hands closed around a paper cup.He came in slow. He wore a flat cap and a worn coat. He smiled like someone who had been given courage.“You Elena?” he asked.“Yes,” I said. “Thank you for coming.”He nodded and sat. “I heard you were looking for old things,” he said. “I thought I should tell what I remember.”“You can say it slowly,” I said. “We can record it. Corbin will log it. Counsel will be in the loop. You will be protected if needed.”He looked at the recorder on the table. “Record?” he said.“Yes,” I said. “It keeps things exact. Corbin will archive the file.”He took a breath. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll try.”“How long ago was this?” I asked.“Many years,” he said. “I was closing up. The street outside was colder than now.”“Did you see anyone?” I asked.“A van. A dark van. It stopped by the servi

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Fourty Nine

    Percival's POVI started the day with a list I had written on the back of an envelope. Paper and ink keep things honest. The list had four items and a margin note: move fast, move clean.“Coffee?” Laurent asked when he stepped into my office. He closed the door without fanfare. He always closed doors the same way, like he was sealing a file.“Yes,” I said. “Black. No sugar.”He sat and put his tablet on the desk. Ms. Alvarez arrived two minutes later. She brought the steady air of someone who had argued in many rooms and won most of them.“Status,” she said. Short. Sharp. Exactly the way I liked it.“Courier laptop decrypted headers,” I said. “Forensics gave us a chain of metadata. Nassau wants evidence in sealed form. We need to file the motion to expand the warrant and to seek correspondent logs. We also need a privilege log and a motion to quash any overbroad discovery.”Laurent blinked and then made notes. “We have the voucher fragment,” he said. “Martin Hale found the scanned doc

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Fourty Eight

    Dominic's POVThe morning after Nassau put the charges on the table, the penthouse felt too small for the noise in my head. I went straight to the office. I needed paper and people and a rhythm. I needed the work to keep me honest.Percival met me at the door. He held a tablet with three open windows. “We have movement in the markets,” he said. “The firm put out a denial but markets are nervous. Some board members are asking for a special meeting. One wants a leadership review.”“Call the meeting,” I said. “Set it for noon. Bring counsel and the audit lead. Keep it calm.”He did. He already had the room when I walked in. The others arrived in the usual blur: chairs, thin files, practiced faces. I sat and let them look at me like I was the axis.“Dominic,” the chair said. “This is serious. The investor is charged. The firm denies. Our stock is down. People want answers. Some of us think a leadership review is prudent.”I listened. I let the room air out. Then I spoke.“We will be transp

  • Bound by Contract, Freed by Love   Chapter Fourty Seven

    Elena's POVI woke before dawn and rode the short drive to the airport in a car that smelled like old leather and coffee. I held my file on my lap and read the list of exhibits again. Counsel had told me to keep my answers short. Counsel had told me to keep my face steady. I repeated the lines in my head like a script.“You look tense,” Percival said when he met me at the terminal.“Always before a hearing,” I said. I tried to make my voice even. “How long do we have there?”“Long enough to do what we need,” he said. “Rest on the plane if you can. Ms. Alvarez and Laurent are on the flight too. We move as a team.”I nodded. The team made me feel less alone. I put my hand on the folder and told myself the work was honesty. That steadied me a little.On the plane Ms. Alvarez sat beside me and ran through the order of testimony with a calm voice.“You will be called to describe chain steps,” she said. “Dates. File names. Courier receipts. If they ask about motive, you will say the same li

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