My Brother Thought I Couldn’t Understand a Word, Until Our New Maid Discovered My Secret and Exposed the Terrifying Truth Behind My Family’s Fortune / Chapter 9 / 25

Chapter 9 - The Lawyer Who Knew Too MuchMark Duvall had spent twenty years learning how to frighten people without threatening them directly.

He rarely shouted.

He rarely used profanity.

He simply described consequences until resistance began to feel expensive.

Standing in Victor Vale's study, he looked almost amused.

"Adrian, I suggest you put those documents down."

Adrian did not move.

"Why?"

"Because you have no idea what you're looking at."

"Then explain it."

Mark glanced at Sophia.

"Not in front of her."

The effect was immediate.

Sophia's expression collapsed into the frightened stillness Adrian now recognized.

He stepped between his sister and the attorney.

"Anything you have to say about her can be said in front of her."

Mark studied him.

"You've changed your position rather dramatically."

"Perhaps I've learned something."

"From the maid?"

"From my sister."

Mark sighed.

"Adrian, you're confusing emotional progress with legal and medical reality. Sophia's condition is complicated."

"Her condition doesn't give you permission to lie."

"That's an extremely serious accusation."

"So is signing financial documents in the name of a dead man."

Mark's eyes shifted toward the photocopy.

He recovered quickly.

"That document is part of a disputed internal accounting file."

"Then there should be an investigation report."

"There are privileged records."

"Whose privilege?"

"Vale Properties is represented by counsel."

Adrian gave a bitter laugh.

"You mean you."

Mark's jaw tightened.

Sophia stepped toward the desk.

She picked up the notebook and wrote:

ASK HIM ABOUT MAY 19.

Adrian read it.

"Why were you here that night?"

Mark glanced at Sophia's writing.

His expression changed almost imperceptibly.

"I was called because a disturbed young woman had made allegations involving family assets."

"Was she disturbed before she found the documents?"

"I don't diagnose people."

"No, you just recommend the doctor."

"Careful."

Adrian stepped closer.

"Did you arrange for Halden to examine her?"

Mark hesitated.

"Celeste asked me for a referral."

"And then your office approved eighty-four thousand dollars in consulting fees."

"Corporate payments aren't evidence of misconduct."

"No. But concealed conflicts can be."

Mark's gaze grew cold.

"You are dangerously close to damaging your sister's interests."

Adrian looked toward Sophia.

She was holding the notebook against her chest.

For the first time, she did not look away from Mark.

"Maybe," Adrian said, "the best way to protect her interests is to let her speak for herself."

Mark watched them for another moment.

Then he smiled.

"You're welcome to try."

He stepped aside.

Adrian gathered the papers and USB drive, taking photographs of the compartments and their contents before removing anything further.

He noted where each item had been found.

Evelyn supported Sophia as they left.

Mark remained in the study.

Only after they disappeared did he call Celeste.

"You have a serious problem."

"What happened?"

"Adrian found Victor's drawer."

There was silence.

Then Celeste whispered, "The blue file?"

"I don't know what he found. He took several documents."

"You told me that drawer was empty."

"It was."

"Then someone put something back."

Mark looked toward the landscape painting.

His eyes narrowed.

"And I think I know who."

The next morning, Adrian met Dana Shaw in a modest office near the White Plains courthouse.

Dana was a forty-six-year-old attorney whose practice focused on guardianship proceedings, fiduciary disputes, and protecting adults whose autonomy had been improperly restricted.

She did not resemble the attorneys Adrian knew from the family business.

There were no marble floors or portraits of founders.

Her office contained crowded bookshelves, yellow legal pads, and a coffee mug that read Ask Better Questions.

She listened carefully while Adrian explained Sophia's history.

Then she interrupted him.

"Before we discuss the trust, I need to know what Sophia wants."

"She wants to stay home."

"Has she told you that?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Writing, gestures, choices. Evelyn helps."

Dana nodded.

"Then I want to meet her directly. Not simply rely on your interpretation."

Adrian frowned.

"She's vulnerable."

"That isn't the same as lacking preferences or legal rights."

He looked down.

Dana continued.

"An Article 81 guardianship in New York is supposed to be tailored to actual functional needs. The court's order matters. Your authority isn't unlimited, and neither is anyone else's."

"Can I stop the transfer?"

"We need to examine the order, the medical basis for the proposed move, and any current emergency. We may be able to seek immediate court protection."

"Can you get the guardianship terminated?"

"If the evidence supports it, we'll petition. But I won't promise an outcome before speaking with Sophia."

Adrian considered her.

"Do you believe she understands?"

"I haven't met her."

The answer startled him.

Everyone else seemed desperate to decide what Sophia was capable of.

Dana was the first professional to refuse.

"Then when can you come?" Adrian asked.

"This afternoon, if Sophia agrees."

He nodded.

Dana glanced at the copied financial documents.

"And one more thing. Don't confront Mark again without considering the consequences. Preserve what you have, establish its origins, and avoid making yourself responsible for destroying the evidence."

Adrian looked at the USB drive on her desk.

"What about this?"

"Don't plug it into your personal computer. A forensic specialist can image it without altering the original."

He exhaled.

"There's so much I don't know."

Dana's expression softened.

"That's why you ask for help."

When Adrian returned home, he found Sophia sitting near the window.

She was staring at the gardens.

He sat beside her.

"I met a lawyer."

Sophia turned.