Part 37 –
Justice doesn't always wear a robe.
Sometimes it arrives with old letters, unspoken debts,
And a name no one dared say aloud… until now.
The Legal Siege Begins
Three days after the dinner with Lucien, Wolfe Enterprises was hit with a lawsuit so massive, it made national headlines.
"Lucien Luthor Sues Wolfe CEO for Defamation, Trade Secrets Theft, and Corporate Sabotage."
Filed in federal court, the suit demanded $200 million in damages. It accused Lila of engineering a public smear campaign, using confidential Wolfe-Luthor business history, and conspiring with former Luthor board members.
It was theatrical. Strategic.
And, on the surface, legitimate enough to buy Lucien time.
Lila stood in the Wolfe conference room, the weight of the company on her shoulders, as her legal team broke down the implications.
"This could tie us up for years," one of the lawyers said. "Even if it's baseless, it forces you into defensive mode."
Marion was furious. "He's not after money. He's after silence. And if we counter too hard, it'll look like retaliation."
Ethan stepped in. "What if we don't play his game? What if we go nuclear?"
Lila didn't speak right away.
Because in her pocket, was something she hadn't told anyone about yet.
A letter.
Delivered by courier.
From someone she hadn't seen since her mother's funeral.
The Letter from the Past
That night, alone in her penthouse, Lila opened the envelope again.
The handwriting was shaky. Faded.
Lila,
If you're reading this, then I finally found the courage your mother always had. There's something you need to know something only I can give you. She left a piece of herself with me. And it's time you saw it.
The signature was barely legible.
Victor Mirov.
Lila's breath caught.
Victor Mirov was once her mother's business partner. A financial wizard, reclusive, who vanished from the industry over a decade ago after a mysterious corporate collapse.
But Eleanor had trusted him. Had loved him once, before Lila was even born.
Victor's letter gave an address.
A cabin in the French Alps.
And a promise:
I have the file that can end Lucien. But I will only give it to you.
The Ghost Cabin
Lila didn't tell Ethan where she was going not because she didn't trust him, but because she knew Lucien would be watching. The fewer people who knew, the safer they'd be.
She left under a false name, boarding a private flight, then a car, then hiking the last mile through snow-covered forest.
The cabin appeared like a forgotten dream stone walls, wood smoke curling from the chimney.
Victor Mirov was thinner than she remembered, with snow-white hair and sad, intelligent eyes.
"I failed your mother," he said quietly. "But I won't fail you."
Inside the cabin, he handed her a worn leather briefcase.
Inside: handwritten journals, financial ledgers, and a voice recording Eleanor, in her own voice, detailing how Lucien had forced Victor out of their joint company, then buried his reputation with fabricated charges.
The real jewel?
A signed contract, naming Eleanor as the original patent owner of a software platform Luthor Enterprises built its entire infrastructure on.
A document Lucien had sworn never existed.
"This," Victor said, tapping the papers, "is your final lever. Not just to defend Wolfe… but to finish him."
The Return
Lila returned to New York with the briefcase clutched like a sword. The moment she walked into Ethan's office, he rushed to her.
"Where did you go?"
She opened the case. "To find the missing chapter."
Together, they reviewed everything.
Marion joined them, jaw slack as she read Eleanor's signature on the patent contract.
"If this is real," she said, "we don't just win the lawsuit. We own part of Luthor's empire."
Lila nodded slowly.
"We don't just defend ourselves. We countersue. We expose him again. And this time, we don't stop."