Part 40 –
Victory is rarely clean.
For every truth brought to light,
A shadow deepens elsewhere
And the cost of justice may be a heart.
A Surprise Witness
The third day of court opened with an air of anticipation.
Lila arrived early, clad in a navy suit that matched the steel in her gaze. Her legal team was confident. Public support was shifting in her favor. And whispers had begun to circulate about a key piece of evidence that could destroy Lucien's credibility once and for all.
Marion pulled Lila aside as the courtroom filled.
"Someone came forward late last night. A whistleblower. Said they have a video recording from the Luthor board meetings. One that proves Lucien coerced witnesses."
Lila's breath hitched. "Why now?"
"They were scared," Marion said. "But not anymore."
As court came to order, the judge allowed the video to be submitted under protected witness terms. The courtroom darkened as the footage played on the screen.
The Video Bombshell
The video was grainy but unmistakable.
Lucien Luthor sat at the head of a long boardroom table, flanked by several former executives. His tone was calm, calculated but the words chilled the entire courtroom.
"If Victor testifies, we bury him. Leak his medical records. Say he's unstable. If Eleanor's daughter brings this to court, I'll have the press crawling through her closet before she can blink. Everyone has a weakness. Find hers."
Gasps rippled through the gallery.
Lila stared at the screen, fists clenched at her sides. She'd known he was ruthless but this? This was sociopathic.
Lucien's attorney jumped to object, but the judge overruled it. The video was verified, admissible, and damning.
Lucien's expression didn't falter, but a muscle twitched in his jaw. For the first time, the mask cracked.
The Threat
Later that evening, as Lila returned to her apartment a rare moment alone she found an envelope waiting on her kitchen counter.
No return address.
No name.
Just her name typed in bold across the front.
Her heart thudded as she opened it.
Inside was a single polaroid.
Ethan.
Tied to a chair.
Unconscious.
Blood on his temple.
Lila dropped the photo as if it burned her. Her vision blurred.
Then a second piece of paper slipped free from the envelope.
"Walk away. Drop the lawsuit. You win, he dies. Choose wisely."
Her knees buckled.
Panic and Resolve
Her hands shook as she called Ethan's phone straight to voicemail.
She dialed Marion. Hannah. Security. Anyone. No one had seen Ethan since late afternoon.
And there were no surveillance tapes of the parking garage.
Gone. Just like that.
Lila stood in the center of her apartment, heart racing, fury rising.
Lucien had threatened to break her.
Now he had touched the only man who'd never betrayed her.
He'd made his final move.
And now so would she.
The Counterattack
The next morning, she strode into Wolfe Tower and issued one command:
"Lock everything down. Contact the private team I hired after the hacking. I want GPS trace, facial recognition, and drones over every route between here and Luthor's estate."
Marion grabbed her arm. "Lila, if you escalate this"
"I'm not going to the police," she said coldly. "Lucien plays outside the law. So will I."
She turned to Hannah. "Check every transfer Lucien made over the last 72 hours. Every warehouse. Every off-shore account. If he so much as bought a pack of gum, I want to know where and when."
Then she went to her mother's office.
Lit a candle on the windowsill.
And whispered, "He hurt someone I love, Mom. I won't let him take another."
Ethan's Plight
Somewhere dark. Damp.
Ethan blinked awake, pain searing through his head.
He was tied to a chair in an empty warehouse metal walls, low lights, the faint smell of oil.
A man in a suit stood nearby.
"You're the weakness," he said, sipping coffee. "Pretty thing like her can't stand the idea of losing you."
Ethan smirked despite the blood in his mouth.
"She's stronger than you think."
The man crouched beside him. "We'll see."
Cliffhanger Ending
Back at Wolfe Tower, Hannah ran into Lila's office.
"We found something. One of Lucien's dummy accounts transferred funds to a shipping facility outside the city under a fake name tied to a security firm."
Lila grabbed her coat.
"I'm going."
"Lila"
"He has Ethan. And I'm not letting him take another damn thing from me."
She turned to Marion.
"Stall the court. If I'm not back by tomorrow, take Lucien down without me."
Then she walked out, eyes blazing, heart racing.
Not as a CEO.
Not even as a daughter.
But as a woman in love.
And a woman ready to burn Lucien Luthor's empire to the ground.