Chapter 3

All eyes were on me.

I met Damon's sharp gaze, then turned to Chloe.

"Chloe, I need to confirm," I said, my voice calm and clear. "This case involves a $500 million settlement and the reputation of Miller & Associates. Are you sure you want to take it?"

Chloe's face turned crimson.

"Ava!" she shrieked. "Are you questioning my abilities?"

"I'm just confirming—"

"You're looking down on me!" She shot up from her chair, her crystal pendant clattering against the table. "You don't think I'm fit to be a lawyer, do you?"

Liam rushed to her side. "Chloe, calm down. Ava didn't mean it like that."

He turned to Damon, his voice pleading. "Mr. Blackwood, please, trust us. Chloe really is a genius from Yale Law. She's just... she's not used to the murky energy of this industry."

"Murky energy?" Damon's voice was ice. "Counselor, I don't care about energy. I care about results."

He walked to the window, looking down at the river of traffic in Manhattan.

"My company has already lost two hundred million because of this lawsuit." He turned slowly, murder in his eyes. "If we lose, I'll have to pay five hundred million."

The air seemed to solidify.

"The Miller family," Damon said, enunciating every word. "I hope you understand one thing. If I lose this case, I won't mind spending that five hundred million to burn your law firm to the ground."

Chloe's face went white. She shrank back in her seat.

Sweat beaded on Liam's forehead.

"Of course, of course, we absolutely won't lose," he said frantically. "Chloe has a unique… innovative approach."

Innovative approach?

I almost laughed out loud.

"Then this meeting is over," Damon said coldly. "I'll be waiting to see your performance."

Ten minutes later, we were in the car heading back to the office.

Chloe was curled up in the passenger seat, crying into her hands.

"His aura was terrifying!" she sobbed. "That violent energy almost tore me apart!"

"Babe, don't cry," Liam said, trying to comfort her while driving. "He's just a serious guy."

"I feel like my heart chakra is about to shatter!" she wailed even louder. "I need to go back and do an energy repair, or I'm going to get sick!"

Watching this ridiculous performance, I pulled out my phone and ordered an Uber.

"You two go ahead and repair," I said, opening the car door. "I'm going back to the office to sort out the files."

"Ava, where are you going?" Liam asked.

I looked at him, my voice as sharp as a knife. "Someone has to make sure this circus doesn't crash and burn before the finale. That’s my job now."

I slammed the door and got into the Uber.

An hour later, I was back at Miller & Associates.

The moment I pushed open my office door, a sharp slap hit my face.

"You ungrateful little bitch!"

My adoptive mother, Margaret, stood before me, her eyes blazing with fury.

"How dare you question Chloe in front of a client? Do you have any idea you almost destroyed this case?"

I touched my stinging cheek and looked at her coldly.

"I was just confirming her intentions."

"Confirming?" Richard stood up from behind his desk, his face livid. "You were deliberately humiliating her!"

"Damon Blackwood just called," he seethed, his voice trembling with rage. "He said if he sees your face anywhere near this case again, he's dropping us!"

Dropping us?

I sneered internally.

The Damon from my past life never said anything like that.

"Good," Richard said, walking up to me, his eyes full of disgust. "Ava, you're fired."

"What?" I feigned shock.

"Pack your things and get out of my firm!" he yelled, pointing to the door. "As of today, you are no longer an employee of Miller & Associates!"

"Uncle, calm down..." Liam said, having just walked in.

"Calm down?" Richard whirled on him. "She almost lost us our biggest client!"

"Ava, just apologize to them," Liam pleaded, walking toward me. "If you just say you're sorry, we can fix this."

Apologize?

I looked at the three of them, at their expectant faces, and remembered a lifetime of compromises and apologies.

Remembered all the useless tears, and the final despair.

I walked slowly to my desk and picked up the framed photo that had sat there for twenty years.

In the picture, I was eight years old, standing between Richard and Margaret, smiling so innocently.

I ripped the photo from its frame, tore it in half, and threw the pieces in the trash. Then I smashed the frame on the floor.

"Ava!" Margaret screamed.

I didn't look back. I grabbed my bag and walked to the door.

"As of today, I am no longer your daughter."

Two hours later, I was sitting in another skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan.

Ethan Richards's office was spacious and bright, the floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of New York City's glittering nightscape.

"You want to represent the 127 evicted families?" Ethan put down the file, his eyes wide with surprise. "You want to be the plaintiff's attorney?"

"Yes." I nodded. "I know their entire case. Every piece of evidence, every legal strategy. I built it. And I know exactly how to tear it down."

"Do you know what this means?" He stood up and walked to the window. "You'll be going against the Miller family. Against Damon Blackwood."

"There's no turning back from this."

I looked out the window, remembering the humiliation of my past life and the freedom of today.

"I never look back."

Ethan smiled and extended his hand. It was warm and strong.

"Welcome to the fight."