Page 32 of Dial L for Lawyer
“Try telling Patricia Wong that. Even with Caleb tearing their case apart, it still looks damning.”
“Caleb’s the hot lawyer who walked you in?”
Heat floods my face. “He’s my attorney. And yes, before you ask, he looks like that all the time. It’s deeply unfair to the rest of us mortals.”
Maya smiles slightly, then grows serious again. “I hate to even bring this up, but… have you considered that maybe someone on the team is involved?”
My stomach drops. “Of course. But who would do that? And why?”
“That’s the million-dollar question.” She hesitates, then seems to make a decision. “Look, I don’t want to point fingers, but Lisa’s been acting strange lately. Ever since her divorce finalized, she’s been stressed about money. Mentioned selling her condo, downsizing…”
“Lisa?” The idea seems impossible. “She’s been with the company for eight years.”
“I know. But desperate people do desperate things.” Maya’s voice is apologetic. “And she’s always resented how quickly yougot promoted. She mentioned it at the holiday party last year, after her third martini. Said some people get all the breaks while others do all the work.”
A chill runs through me. “You think Lisa sold our campaign to Radiance?”
“I think someone did. And that someone knew you well enough to frame you perfectly.” Maya reaches across and squeezes my hand.
“There’s something else. Last month, Lisa asked me if I knew your passwords. Said she needed to access some files while you were in that client meeting with Hartley.”
My blood turns to ice. “What did you tell her?”
“I didn’t give them to her,” Maya says quickly. “But that doesn’t mean she didn’t get them another way. Shoulder surfing, keystroke logger, or just watching you type…”
“Five years,” I whisper. “I’ve worked with her for the entire five years I’ve been at Luminous. We’ve had drinks together, celebrated promotions…”
“I’m sorry.” Maya’s voice is soft. “I should have said something sooner, but I didn’t think anything of it until all this happened. I just thought she was being her usual passive-aggressive self.”
“It’s not your fault.” I stare at my coffee, trying to process. Lisa with her perfect blowout and her ‘Congrats, girl boss!’ energy that always felt like arsenic wrapped in a pink bow.
Maya checks her phone and stands abruptly. “I should get back before someone notices I’m gone. But Serena?” She pulls me into a quick, fierce hug. “We’re family. I’ve got your back no matter what. Lisa, Patricia, whoever did this. They picked the wrong person to mess with.” Her loyalty feels like an anchor. But the suspicion she’s planted in me about Lisa feels like a knife.
I watch her leave, then sit there staring at my iced latte, trying to reconcile the Lisa I thought I knew with someone capable of destroying my entire life.
My phone buzzes.
Caleb:
Where the hell are you, Serena?
Shit.
CHAPTER 11
Caleb
"Off the record, Caleb. This whole thing is a mess." David leans back and loosens his tie. The formal mask he wore in the conference room is long gone. We've been talking for twenty minutes, and I can see the strain on my brother's face as he tries to balance family loyalty with professional obligations.
Meanwhile, I'm still thinking about the way Serena looked in that conference room. Professional. Composed. Fighting not to cry. The way her hand trembled under mine beneath the table. I wanted to pull her into my lap right there in front of everyone, tell Patricia Wong to go fuck herself, and carry Serena out of there.
"On the record, that's because your investigation is a joke and you know it," I say bluntly, gesturing at the paperwork on his desk. "I’m not taking this settlement offer to her. It’s insulting. Who's running this—a summer intern? Your daughter’s volcano project has more structural integrity than this case."
"Don't be an ass, Caleb. Patricia's doing her job with what she's got." David's voice carries the edge it gets when I push too hard. "The board is breathing down everyone's necks. They want this resolved quickly and quietly."
"By railroading an innocent woman." I lean forward, elbows on his desk. "Come on, David. You've read this file, reviewed the evidence. You wouldn't take this to small claims court, let alone build a termination case on it."
"You think I don't know that?" He runs a hand through his hair—the same gesture he's made since we were kids when our parents cornered him about something. "But I'm not calling the shots here. The board wants a scapegoat, and Serena's it."
