ATTY. AND THE HUSBAND
It is the fifth day of Aurie being in a coma and existing as a translucent-human form, still wandering around anywhere and everywhere that even she couldn't explain. She was currently sitting at an energetic morning table inside Hugh's favorite restaurant; an Oklahoma City establishment known for its Mediterranean and exquisite cuisine, situated directly between her husband, Hugh, and her best attorney, Atty. Robert Lanier.
Aurie murmured,"Oh wow, powerful huh... I don't get to decide where will I wake up... wait, did I ever... sleep?!"
Hugh struck the conversation sharply with Atty. Lanier. "How did Amelia easily convinced you to... like... uhm... change my wife's will? Those were very specifics huh!!!" Hugh then laughed, a sound so loud that the few customers in the restaurant turned their heads, wondering why a person would laugh with such manic intensity.
Atty. Lanier:"What are you talking about?"
Hugh:"Atty., I can sue you. You know that."
Atty. Lanier gulped, sweating in cold. The fear radiating from him was palpable.
Hugh:"See? You're sweating now, Atty. You know, I really doubt you now."
Atty. Lanier:"Huh?"
Hugh:"You are so close to my wife. Where were you? Awards Night... Business Awards Night, huh?" Hugh was testing him, trying to break his composure with half-truths.
Atty. Lanier tilted his head, struggling to maintain his professional facade. "I'm sorry, Hugh. If you are not the one~"
Hugh:"I am not, yes. I am not a criminal. I will not kill my wife... but... I'm certain that... if you do bad things, you are likely a criminal. C'mon, if you don't answer, let's eat."
In a fun, calm tone, Hugh masked his madness. They both took a bite of their half-cooked beef. Hugh couldn't hold his madness in check; while chewing their fresh breakfast, he struck again. "Atty., I'm running out of patience. Why did you let Amelia manipulated you? And my wife's will?"
Atty. Lanier:"I don't know what you're talking~"
Hugh banged the thick wooden table using his left closed fist. The sudden, violent sound cut through the silence. Then, in avillainous calm tone, Hugh leaned in. "I'm giving you three weeks to enjoy that modification, manipulation... sh*t... whatever you two did but after that..." He wiped his left closed fist using the table napkin, then stood up behind Atty. Lanier. He took the remaining splash of red wine on his left hand and brushed it lightly on Atty. Lanier's left shoulder. Hugh finished the threat in a low voice. "I'm going to sue you and your master Amelia for what you did with Aurie's will."
Hugh left the restaurant. Atty. Lanier remained seated, his eyes wide in shock, his body saturated with cold sweats.
WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?
Hugh is now in his car. After the villainous facade he gave to Atty. Lanier, he commanded his driver. "Go to my favorite restaurant, please. Now, I really hate the food here." The driver obeyed instantly, smiling as he answered politely, "Sure, your highness."
Aurie instantly teleported inside Hugh's car, materializing exactly beside her husband. Aurie asked, as if Hugh could hear her: "Do you think, Atty. Lanier will obey? You didn't mention that he needs to reverse or break the 'Adiel's children inheritance' thing in my will because that's what I truly wrote~"
Hugh spoke, seemingly answering Aurie, though he was looking straight ahead. "It takes time. If Atty. Lanier won't do it, I'm sure that I'll put him in jail."
Aurie's eyes widened, amazed by her husband's sudden, calculated ruthlessness. She continued: "Okay... how was your night? I was with our son and... uhm..."
Hugh:"My night... my night is always incomplete... without you, love."
Aurie gasped in happiness, instantly trying to hug her husband again, but the movement was too fast. She phased off the car, finding herself suddenly floating above the street.
The driver immediately stopped driving, then cautiously asked, "Your highness, you want me to uhm..."
Hugh:"What?"
The Driver:"Uhm... you said uh... you had an incomplete sleep... and I'm thinking~"
Hugh:"~to drive me in my favorite restaurant, yes please. I'm starving, it's seven & I don't have a full healthy breakfast!!!"
The driver drove again. Hugh wondered and asked, "What huh? Where do you want us to go to?"
The Driver:"Nothing, your highness. I was wondering... who were you talking to?"
Hugh slightly laughed, answering back with a finality that closed the subject. "Nothing, just drive. Thanks for the concern."
ATTY. LANIER AND AMELIA
It was still the fifth day of Aurie being in a coma, and the atmosphere had shifted to the strained silence of early evening, around 5:31 PM.Atty. Lanier invitedAmelia Fortuna to his New York office, a space he kept deliberately sparse.
Amelia stepped inside and looked around with thinly veiled disdain. "Robert, this looks like a 'Notary Public' office."
Atty. Lanier:"Don't insult my office. We need to talk about~"
Amelia cut him off, her tone knowing. "Hugh?"
Atty. Lanier:"How do you know?"
Amelia:"Please Robert, I'm Amelia Fortuna. I would know. Always. We just need to ignore Hugh."
Atty. Lanier lowered his voice, the confrontation with Hugh still fresh. "He's mad, Amelia. He has an idea~"
Atty. Lanier wanted to shout the truth—that Hugh knew about the illegal will changes—but Amelia stood up, facing the window, looking out at the city. She spoke with a profound, bitter certainty. "Hugh... he really knows how to follow people like me because... when they were... when he & Aurie is in high school... he hated me... and I uh... I saw that time, he can do anything for my dear Aurie."
A minute of heavy silence passed. Atty. Lanier's mind was a furious mix of thoughts. He wrestled with whether he should continue to stand by Amelia or terminate their deal, letting their manipulation of Aurie's will be over. He knew the changes were a profound betrayal of his client.
Atty. Lanier broke the silence: "We have three weeks."
Amelia walked back, sitting immediately beside Atty. Lanier, her proximity an invasion of his space. "Three weeks? I thought it's two weeks. If after three weeks that Hugh won, over us. Can you manage Aurie's will by yourself as she instructed you to do it as her... Assistant? or I'll be your forever ally and of course, help you with Aurie's conglomerate."
Atty. Lanier was in deep thought, his eyes fixed on the window behind Amelia. He thought internally, "Aurie will be mad at me."
Before he could voice his fear, Amelia answered his internal thought as if she had heard it. "Aurie will not get mad at you, Atty. Lanier. You are her Attorney and a friend."
Atty. Lanier:"That's not it, Amelia."
Amelia:"I call you 'Atty. Lanier' and I acknowledge you as my Aurie's friend. What don't you understand?" Her voice was calm, yet loaded with challenge.
Atty. Lanier:"Because that's not what I want! That's not what I need!!!"
Amelia stood up again, moving to sit directly in front of him, facing him over his desk—a clear power move. "Do not shout at me, Atty. Lanier. How much you'll get by being her Assistant as Aurie being half-dead? Huh?"
Atty. Lanier:"You know how much, even you refuse to get my photo copies for you remember?!"
Amelia dismissed it entirely. "What do you think about the Amerie Residences?"
Atty. Lanier frowned, confusion mixing with his building headache. He tilted his head. "Huh?"
Amelia:"Attorney, close your mouth please. That Pasay city's one of the best condominium, hmm... what do you think of that?"
Atty. Lanier:"I don't... I don't understand~"
Amelia:"Attorney Robert Lanier, it's five-tower high-rise condominium community where to first two towers were sold already. How about, I'll give you the full earnings of the third tower? Nice right? C'mon, it's pre-selling and it is only 12% sold." Her offer was astronomical, a direct purchase of his loyalty.
Atty. Lanier:"I know, so, why the heck you are going to do that for me~"
Amelia cut him off again, a smirk touching her lips. "Oh wow, you are not amaze by my offer?!"
Atty. Lanier slammed his hand on the desk, not in anger, but in rejection. "Amelia, stop, I get all the things you said & it's a 'No'."
For two minutes, they simply laid eyes on each other. They both remembered the long, complex history that connected them through Aurie. Lanier, though furious, still felt that crippling sense that he couldn't publicly fight Amelia. He was sweating, a minor migraine starting to pound behind his eyes.
Amelia, about to cry in frustration and madness at his refusal, shifted her tactic to guilt. She made him realize: "Please hang on for me and Aurie. She will... will wake up, any fucking moment."
Atty. Lanier finally stood up, fixing his papers and jacket, a signal that the conversation was over. It is exactly 6 PM. He stood with his hand on the doorknob before exiting, leaving Amelia alone. He delivered his final answer with quiet authority. "Amelia, in three weeks, you know the law, and Hugh is the husband, legally husband of Aurie. If you really know what really an 'Empathy' means, you will stop this. For that, you can continue calling me 'Robert' forever."
❓ Hugh Adler has drawn the first line in the sand. His terrifying, villainous confrontation with Atty. Lanier was not just a threat; it was a promise: "I'm going to sue you and your master Amelia for manipulating Aurie's will."
❓The New Battle Lines ❓
❓Will Atty. Lanier flip completely? He refused Amelia's billion-dollar bribe, but he didn't explicitly agree to join Hugh. Will the fear of jail time and Aurie's ghostly terror force him to betray Amelia and officially join Hugh's campaign to nullify the fatal flaw in the will?
❓Will Adiel be forced to choose? Hugh is preparing to use the legal loophole (Adiel's relationship with Sejun) to save the inheritance. Will Adiel find out that his deepest secret is about to become his father's greatest corporate weapon?
What is Aurie's next move? Don't miss a single move in this high-stakes game!
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