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Chapter 11 The Lawyer
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2026-02-07 00:00:05Aria’s POV
The law office of Mitchell & Associates was tucked into a corner building in downtown Manhattan, far enough from Jason’s usual haunts that I wouldn’t risk running into anyone who knew him.
I’d called that morning while Jason was still sleeping off his hangover. Made an appointment under my real name…Aria Myles…not Hartley. The receptionist hadn’t questioned it.
Now I sat in a leather chair across from Marcus Mitchell, a man in his late fifties with graying hair and sharp eyes that had probably seen every kind of marital disaster imaginable.
I slid the folder across his desk.
“This is everything I have,” I said.
He opened it slowly, examining each piece of evidence. The hotel receipts. The text message printouts. The credit card statements showing jewelry purchases I’d never received. The photo of Violet wearing the $15,000 necklace.
Then the photo from last night…my bruised cheek, the red handprint still visible.
He studied that one longer than the others.
“Your husband did this?” His voice was neutral, professional.
“Yes. Last night. He was drunk.”
“Has he hit you before?”
“No. But he’s threatened me. Coerced me into staying.” I pulled out my phone and played the recording I’d made in the parking garage…Jason’s voice cold and clear as he threatened St. Catherine’s Orphanage if I tried to leave.
Marcus listened to the entire thing without interrupting.
When it finished, he sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers.
“Mrs. Hartley…”
“Myles,” I corrected. “I’d prefer Myles.”
“Ms. Myles.” He nodded. “This is compelling evidence. The adultery, the physical abuse, the financial coercion. Any one of these would be grounds for divorce that would void your prenuptial agreement.”
Relief flooded through me. “So I can leave him. I can file…”
“I didn’t say I would take your case.”
The relief evaporated.
“What?”
Marcus leaned forward, his expression sympathetic but firm. “Your husband is Jason Hartley. CEO of Hartley Industries. One of the most powerful men in New York. He has resources, connections, and the best legal team money can buy.”
“But you just said the evidence…”
“The evidence is good. But good evidence doesn’t always win against unlimited money and influence.” He tapped the photo of my bruised cheek. “He’ll claim this was an accident. That he was drunk and you provoked him. His lawyers will paint you as unstable, vindictive, a gold digger trying to extort him.”
“I’m not a gold digger. I have my own money…”
“Do you?” He raised an eyebrow. “Can you prove it? Or will his lawyers argue that everything you have came from him, that you’re dependent on his wealth?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. My Myles Industries inheritance was real, but I’d hidden it so carefully that proving it existed without exposing my entire deception would be complicated.
“I see,” Marcus said quietly. “Ms. Myles, I’m going to be honest with you. Taking on a case against Jason Hartley would be professional suicide for a firm like mine. He would bury us in motions, drag the case out for years, and destroy my reputation.”
“So you won’t help me.” My voice came out flat.
“I’m advising you to reconsider. Wait out the prenup. Eight months isn’t that long…”
“Eight months?” I stood up, my hands shaking. “You want me to stay with a man who hits me, cheats on me, threatens charities to control me? For eight more months?”
“I want you to be realistic about your options…”
“My option is to get out. Now. Before he hurts me again.” I grabbed the folder off his desk. “If you won’t help me, I’ll find someone who will.”
“Ms. Myles, please sit down…”
The office door opened.
We both turned.
A man stood in the doorway…tall, broader than Jason, with hazel eyes and dark hair that looked like he’d run his hands through it too many times. He wore jeans and a leather jacket, completely out of place in this formal law office.
My breath caught.
Kyle.
“I’m sorry,” the receptionist said from behind him, flustered. “Sir, you can’t just…”
“It’s fine, Monica.” Kyle’s voice was deeper in person, warm in a way that Jason’s never was. He looked at Marcus. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“You are,” Marcus said coldly. “This is a private consultation…”
“With Aria Myles. I know.” Kyle walked into the office and sat down in the chair next to mine like he’d been invited. “Kyle Hartley. Jason’s brother.”
I stared at him. “How did you know I was here?”
“I’ve been keeping track.” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Making sure you’re safe.”
“That’s called stalking,” Marcus said sharply.
“That’s called protecting someone who needs it.” Kyle turned his attention to the lawyer. “Now, Marcus…can I call you Marcus?…I couldn’t help but overhear that you’re denying this beautiful lady her divorce.”
“I’m not denying anything. I’m simply explaining the realities…”
“The realities,” Kyle interrupted, “are that my brother is an abusive piece of shit who deserves to lose everything. And you’re too afraid of his money to help the woman he’s been terrorizing for two years.”
Marcus’s face reddened. “Mr. Hartley, I don’t appreciate…”
“I don’t care what you appreciate.” Kyle leaned back in his chair, casual and dangerous. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to take Aria’s case. You’re going to file for divorce on grounds of adultery and abuse. And you’re going to win.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because I’m going to fund it.” Kyle pulled out a checkbook. “Every motion, every filing f*e, every expert witness. I’ll cover all of it. And when Jason’s lawyers try to bury you in paperwork, I’ll match them dollar for dollar.”
Marcus stared at him. “Why would you do that? He’s your brother.”
“Half-brother,” Kyle corrected.
“This is insane,” Marcus said.
“This is justice.” Kyle wrote out a check and slid it across the desk. “Fifty thousand dollars.. There’s more where that came from.”
Marcus looked at the check, then at me, then back at Kyle.
“You’re asking me to go to war with one of the most powerful men in New York.”
“I’m asking you to help a woman escape an abusive marriage.” Kyle’s voice hardened. “But if that’s too difficult for you, we
’ll find another lawyer. There are plenty who’d jump at the chance to take down Jason Hartley.”
The office went quiet.
Último capítulo
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