Damien made a decision about the lawsuit.
Not to settle.
To fight.
And the Syndicate responded with their second attack.
---
The decision came after a sleepless night.
Damien had been pacing the study. Reading the lawsuit. Reading it again. Reading it a third time.
Christabel found him at 3 AM.
"You haven't slept."
"I've been thinking."
"About the lawsuit?"
"About principle."
She walked to him.
Took his hands.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to fight."
"Then fight."
"He has evidence. Witnesses. A good lawyer."
"So do we."
---
The next morning, Damien made a call.
Not to a lawyer. To a fixer.
"I need the best."
"The best what?"
"The best lawyer. The one who wins cases everyone else loses."
There was a pause.
"Jonathan Sterling."
"Get him."
---
Jonathan Sterling arrived at the penthouse at noon.
Tall. Silver hair. Sharp suit. Eyes that missed nothing.
He walked in like he owned the place.
Jax was in the living room.
"So you're the lawyer," Jax said.
"I'm the lawyer."
"You look expensive."
"I am expensive."
"Worth it?"
Sterling smiled.
"Watch me."
---
Behind him walked a young man.
Dark hair. Glasses. Carrying a stack of files that looked like they weighed more than he did.
"This is Elijah Park," Sterling said. "Eli. He's my associate. He knows more about the law than I do. He just doesn't know it yet."
Eli adjusted his glasses.
"I know it."
Sterling laughed.
"That's why I hired him."
---
The briefing was intense.
Damien laid out the case. Marcus Webb. The beating. The photographs. The threats.
Sterling listened without taking notes.
Eli took notes. Lots of notes.
"So let me understand," Sterling said. "You beat a man. Hung him upside down. Threatened him. And now he's suing you."
"That's correct."
"And you want to fight?"
"I want to win."
Sterling smiled.
"I like you."
---
Eli looked up from his notes.
"Under California law, assault and battery can carry civil penalties. But there's a precedent. Self-defense. Defense of others. If we can argue that you were protecting your wife—"
"I was protecting my marriage," Damien said.
"That's not a legal defense."
"It's the truth."
Sterling leaned back.
"The truth doesn't matter in court. What matters is what you can prove."
---
Christabel walked into the room.
She had been listening from the doorway.
"What if we don't fight the facts?"
Sterling looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"What if we argue that Marcus Webb was not a victim? That he was an aggressor? That he was trying to destroy my marriage?"
"You'd need evidence."
"I have evidence."
---
She handed Sterling a folder.
Letters. Emails. Recordings.
Marcus Webb had been meeting with the Syndicate. Sharing information about Christabel's therapy sessions. Violating patient confidentiality.
Sterling read the documents.
His smile widened.
"Well, well, well."
Eli read over his shoulder.
"This changes everything."
"Doesn't it just."
---
That afternoon, the Syndicate responded.
Victor Cross emerged from the shadows.
Not in person. Through a video call.
He was older. Grayer. Thinner. His eyes burned with hatred.
"Damien Moreau."
"Victor Cross."
"You destroyed my company."
"You destroyed yourself."
"You took everything from me."
"You took everything from yourself."
---
Cross's face twisted.
"I've been waiting years for this. Watching. Planning. Building."
"Building what?"
"The end of your empire."
He ended the call.
Jax was standing in the corner.
"So that guy's the sponsor?"
"That's the sponsor."
"He looks like a villain from a movie."
"He looks like a man with nothing to lose."
Sterling stood.
"We have a lot of work to do."
"How much time?" Damien asked.
"The trial is set for six weeks."
"Can you win?"
Sterling looked at Eli.
Eli looked at his notes.
"We can win," Eli said.
"How?"
"By proving that Marcus Webb was not a victim. He was a weapon."
---
That night, Christabel put Lena to bed.
Not Damien. Her.
Lena was teething. Fussy. Nothing made her happy.
"Bah," Lena said. Angry. Frustrated.
"I know, little one. Your teeth hurt. Everything hurts."
Lena cried.
"I know. I feel the same way sometimes."
---
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"She's not sleeping?"
"She's teething."
"Do you need help?"
"Just hold her."
He took Lena from her arms.
The baby cried.
Then stopped.
Then looked at her father.
"Da," she said again.
"She's getting better at it."
"She's going to be a talker."
"She's going to be just like you."
"God help the world."
"God help anyone who tries to silence her."
---
They stood over the crib together.
Lena was asleep. Her tiny chest rose and fell.
"The trial," Christabel said.
"We'll win."
"The Syndicate."
"We'll beat them."
"Victor Cross."
"We'll destroy him."
She looked at him.
"How do you stay so calm?"
He took her hand.
"Because I have you."