Chapter 10 - The Counter-Strategy
Marcus Sterling didn't wait for an invitation; he turned on his heel and walked toward the studio exit, pausing with his hand on the brass door handle.
"You have forty-eight hours to review the acquisition terms I've uploaded to the encrypted portal on that card," Marcus said coldly over his shoulder. "Fight us, and you will lose your home, your savings, and your niece. Cooperate, and your family will be quietly compensated. Choose wisely."
The door clicked shut. The bell rang out its cheerful little chime, sounding obscenely out of place against the heavy, suffocating silence that descended upon the studio.
Sarah slumped into a nearby chair, burying her face in her hands. "We’re ruined. They’re going to take her, Gwen. They’re corporate raiders with unlimited legal budgets. We can't fight them."
"Shut up, Sarah," Gwen snapped, her voice hard as diamond. Fear had completely evaporated, replaced by a cold, razor-sharp resolve. For years, men like her father, Ethan, and now this corporate predator had treated women in her family like disposable pawns. Not this time. Not with Maya.
Gwen walked over to the desk, picked up the black business card, and slipped it into her pocket. She grabbed her phone, dialed a number from memory, and hit speakerphone.
On the third ring, a calm, steady voice answered. "Gwen? Is everything okay? You sound tense."
It was Lauren. Hearing her steady, grounded voice brought an instant wave of clarity back into Gwen's chest.
"Lauren, lock all the doors, pull the smart shades down, and keep Maya inside the house," Gwen said rapidly, her tone urgent but controlled. "We have a visitor. Not Ethan. A corporate representative from Vanguard Global. They know about the genetic marker trust, and they’re coming after Maya’s legal custody."
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line, followed by a tense pause. But Lauren didn't panic. The woman who had survived Ethan’s betrayal and rebuilt her entire life from the ashes was not about to crumble now.
"I'm locking the doors right now," Lauren said, her voice steady and resolute. "Where are you?"
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"I'm at the studio with Sarah. She brought a dossier from our father’s Swiss locker," Gwen explained quickly. "It turns out our father set up a biological patent trust tied to the family genetic markers. Vanguard wants to use it to seize asset control through custody manipulation."
"Listen to me carefully, Gwen," Lauren instructed, her tone unwavering. "Don't sign anything. Don't let Sarah leave. I’m calling our family law attorney—the fierce one who handled Ethan’s asset freeze. And I’m calling federal investigator Miller. If Vanguard wants to play dirty with corporate biological fraud, we’ll hand them right back to the FBI."
