Edna clinked glasses with the women around her.
"When you've been through life and death together, there's no need to be as careful as you were at the start. We saved each other's lives. He and I are inseparable in this lifetime."
I drew a sharp breath.
My heart pounded faster, driven by rage.
I closed the door quietly.
It was time to go the legal route.
While I had my people preparing litigation materials, Edna's message came through on the third day:
[Instead of wasting time fighting with me, you should hurry up and compensate Clark for his losses.]
Right after that, she forwarded a court summons.
It was a lawsuit filed by Clark Dickerson.
He was accusing my company of food safety violations.
Claiming our products had caused his child's food poisoning.
I hadn't expected that after I'd sent him into a rage last time, he still refused to give up.
But that kind of persistence always had someone backing it.
I called Edna.
"You helped him file it?"
She let out a soft laugh.
Said nothing.
The answer was obvious.
"And if I refuse to pay?"
"Sweetheart, think carefully. The team representing him in court is my legal department."
My breath caught.
"Why be so stubborn about this? Just accept it and move on."
I gripped the phone tighter.
"This company is a brand my grandfather built from the ground up. A century of reputation. You want me to accept the charges and destroy the brand the Sanchezes spent generations building?"
Edna sighed.
"Do you really have to make things difficult for him and his son?"
"You're the ones making things difficult for me!"
I clenched my jaw.
"Clark gave his own child something he shouldn't have eaten!"
Edna was silent for a moment.
When she spoke again, her voice had gone cold.
"Then you're on your own."
The line went dead with a flat dial tone.
I stood there, gripping my phone.
Theodore Simmons from the Legal Department looked at me with concern.
"Mr. Sanchez, the Swansons have already sent us a cease-and-desist letter. Their team has never lost a case, domestic or international. We..."
I clenched my fist.
"We fight. And I'll be right there with you."
Theo's eyes lit up.
On the day of the hearing, when I stepped up as both the defendant and lead counsel, Edna visibly froze.
She had no idea I held a law license.
My phone buzzed.
A message from her.
I ignored it.
I faced the Swanson legal team head-on.
Throughout the entire proceedings, the expression on Edna's face was grim.
She realized her lawyers weren't invincible after all.
And that I had been hiding my legal expertise all along.
When the court dismissed Clark's complaint, he sat there with his eyes burning red with fury.
I shot a cold glance at Edna.
Her expression was unreadable.
It was only as the courtroom cleared that she caught me at the door.
Her smile was slow, loaded with meaning.
"Mr. Sanchez. Far more impressive than I imagined."
"What, are you going to file an appeal for your boy toy?"
"No."
She smiled. "My husband is this talented. Why would I keep fighting him?"
I stared at her, not understanding.
She was already turning to leave.
"Then I wish you, Mr. Sanchez, nothing but continued success."
I frowned. "What is she up to?"
That night, I stayed at the office.
I went through the warehouse inventory, checked the security systems and fire safety equipment.
Made sure there wasn't a single vulnerability to exploit.
Only then did I let myself breathe.
Theo walked out with me at the end of the night.
"Thank God you were there, Mr. Sanchez. Otherwise those legal sharks would've bled us dry!"
