The revelation of the cease and desist letter struck Alex like a bolt of lightning. His mind, accustomed to precision and absolute control over his empire, refused to believe it. He hadn’t given that order. Or had he? The memories of those days, a whirlwind of meetings, launches, and investor pressure, were hazy. He had delegated too much to his legal team, blindly trusting their judgment to “protect” his image and his time.
“Are you sure, Sofia?” Alex asked, his voice tinged with disbelief and growing horror. “I would never… I would never authorize something like that against you or your family.”
Sofia looked at him with a mixture of pity and skepticism. “I have the copy, Alex. Signed by your law firm, with your name on the header. Miguel tried to talk to you for my own good, because he was worried about me and the baby. And he received that legal threat. Do you think he would have exposed myself to your contempt again after that?”
Alex’s blood boiled. He had been manipulated, or at least his trust had been betrayed. His lead attorney at the time, a man named Richard Sterling, had always been overly protective of his reputation. It was clear that Sterling had acted on his own, interpreting Alex’s orders to “eliminate distractions” in the coldest and most ruthless way possible. The debt he owed wasn’t just for his own selfishness, but also for the cruelty his success had allowed.
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