Chapter 1 : Conflict of Interest

*Amelia*

“Don’t get yourself in trouble, Amelia. This case is dangerous as it is,” my friend Samantha mentioned as we said goodbye. “I bet your boss won’t be happy when he finds out that you started interviewing people behind his back.”

“I promise I will be careful. I won’t put my life at risk until I get a solid case against them. In Mom’s memory, I need to make it work.”

She nodded and gave me a smile, waving a hand and blowing me a kiss as we both parted ways. I sighed, walking back home, Sammy’s words resonating in my mind all the way until I made it to my apartment.

I sat in my threadbare, sparsely decorated apartment and looked at the mountain of case files and legal documents piled before me. On top of the stack closest to me, there was a picture of a gorgeous woman with hazel eyes and dark brown hair. She had smile lines that showed grace and poise. She had the most beautiful, kind smile that resembled my own. I caught a glimpse of myself in the window, and I could see my mother's drive for justice reflected back at me.

My mother was dead, and there was only one thing I could do for her now. I would do everything in my power to bring the people responsible to their knees before the justice system. I took a deep breath and picked up the first file, my mind focused on the task at hand.

Two hours later, long after darkness had settled over the city, I went to grab the takeout I had ordered from outside my front door. I was startled to see someone had left a mysterious package on my welcome mat. I grabbed my food, and the manila envelope and walked back inside, locking the door behind me.

I set the piping hot bag of Chinese food on the counter, cautiously opened the envelope, and dumped the contents out into my hand. Inside was a thumb drive with a note attached to it: The Truth Will Set You Free.

I briskly walked to the living room and grabbed my laptop from the floor. Once it was booted up, I inserted the thumb drive and megabyte upon megabyte of confidential information began flooding my screen. Someone sent me proof that Medical Innovations and Discoveries was moving forward with medications that had not been tested properly.

I poured over file after file showcasing their negligence and wrongdoing, and I became angrier and angrier the more I read. My mother was a sheep that had been sent to slaughter, just like I had thought all along. I was going to make them pay no matter the costs.

***

*Adrian*

I gazed pensively down upon the glittering cityscape spread out before me. Thoughts of my vendetta against MID flickered through my mind, and I imagined the spoils of victory that would flood my veins when I revealed to the world how despicable the company was. I had already uncovered a labyrinth of lies and deceit. There were just a few more moving parts I needed to validify before I was ready to begin hammering the nails into the proverbial coffin.

I turned and glanced around the penthouse I had recently acquired. It was located on the top floor of a high-rise building with floor-to-ceiling windows that let in floods of natural light, gleaming hardwood floors, and a perfect view of the National Mall. This penthouse was one of the finest in the entire city, and it was fully outfitted with all the latest amenities - from the sparkling stainless steel kitchen to the 70-inch smart television.

I made my way into my home office where I could spread out all my research around me. The room smelled like fresh leather with hints of pine, and there were mementos everywhere - my diplomas from undergrad and law school and various articles about cases that I had won.

My desk was clear save for a laptop charged up and ready to be used. I stood there taking everything in before sighing and sitting down in my plush leather chair, ready to go over some case notes for tomorrow's hearing. I had only managed to log in to my work account when I got a notification of an email from a throwaway email address.

I was getting ready to mark it as spam when I read the subject line: The truth will set you free. Curiously, I examined the email further and realized it was encrypted. People don't encrypt emails unless they're trying to keep something hidden.

I opened the link and saw file after file begins downloading onto my laptop. At first, I was concerned that I had fallen for some kind of Trojan Horse virus, but the file names started jumping out at me: Trial 37 - 2 deaths, Trial 14 - 2 in a coma, Ignores Safety Testing to Make Larger Profit...

The names continued in much the same fashion, and I knew this couldn't be a coincidence. This was related to the MID lawsuit. I began to scour each file to determine whether this was a plant of false evidence or cold, hard proof delivered to me on a silver platter.

***

*Amelia*

The next day, I arrived at the courthouse early. My stomach churned with anxiety as I thought about how much time I had spent pouring over the documents on the thumb drive, piecing together the story of my mother's death and the negligence that had led to it. I had never felt so sure of anything in my life - these people had to pay for what they had done.

I sprinted in my heels toward the looming courthouse before me. As I reached the steps leading to the oak doors, the sky opened and rain began to drench me. I was thankful for the umbrella I grabbed from my closet this morning, then cursed as I realized my mom's old leather briefcase was getting wet. I quickened my pace to get out of the rain before the old bag was ruined.

I pushed open the doors to the courthouse and ran smack dab into the front of a tall figure dressed in dark gray. I yelped, and we dropped our belongings onto the floor, papers fluttering and pens clacking against the marble. I apologized quickly before looking up, and my expression hardened. I recognized his dark features, brooding gray eyes, and signature Armani suit. It was Adrian Chase. His reputation was clouded with unorthodox methods, brutal cross-examination, and winning by any means necessary.

He gave me a once over and his eyes filled with contempt as he snatched up his papers and stood to tower over me. Again, I apologized because Adrian isn't the kind of person you want working against you. He said nothing and stalked away, leaving me on the floor.

I watched his back retreat down the long corridor before I lifted my right hand and flipped him off. He may not have seen it, but it made me feel better. What are the odds he would have a piece of paper with the same message that was sent to me last night? I didn't have the time to ponder it, though. I needed to get to the offices to talk with my boss.

I groaned inwardly as I spotted the dark blue stain spreading across my white blouse, likely caused when Adrian and I collided during our brief encounter. My gaze darted left and right, searching for a way out of this mess. Ah. The corridor next to the main courtroom had a private bathroom. Perfect. Quickly, I scurried over there and shoved open the heavy wooden door.

I stifled a gasp as I stepped into the bathroom and saw a powerfully sculpted man standing in front of the sink with his shirt off. His muscular frame was artfully framed by his gray pants, and my eyes quickly moved from his strong thighs to his trim waist, taut back, and huge shoulder muscles. His arms were moving quickly as he scrubbed what I presumed to be his shirt, and when I looked up to meet his gaze I realized that two steel-gray eyes were already looking at me with burning intensity.

Adrian Chase stood and removed his shirt from the sink and turned to me, exposing the massive expanse of his chest. He crossed his arms and stared at me in irritation, “You got ink on my shirt, now I'm going to be late.”

I could feel a flush of embarrassment rising to my cheeks as I realized what was happening here. He had seen me ogling him, and he didn't seem pleased. I scrambled for an excuse, but all I managed was a soft "sorry". Adrian snorted before turning away from me, grabbing his shirt, and pulling it over his head.

He started walking towards the door and I stepped aside quickly to let him pass, careful not to brush up against him. The silence felt oppressive as we stood there for a few moments before he spoke again without looking at me, “You should clean yourself up before you get into trouble with your boss. Now if you'll excuse me…”

I nodded mutely and watched as Adrian left the bathroom, leaving behind a faint smell of cologne that made my heart race. Jesus, how did he manage to stay in such great shape and work the schedule he did? I made quick work of scrubbing the stain out of my shirt, then gathered the rest of my belongings and half-jogged down the office hallway.

I paused outside the door and composed myself, pushing all thoughts of a shirtless Adrian Chase from my mind, then I entered and acknowledge my boss, Michael Rosenbloom, "Hey, Michael, sorry I'm late. That weather is brutal today."

Michael replied, "Yes, it is."

He paused before giving me a meaningful look and said, "There's no easy way to say this, but I'm giving the Medical Innovations and Discoveries case to someone else."

My heart dropped into my stomach. I had been working on this case for months now and was so close to finally getting some justice for my mother. I felt dejected as I asked him why he was taking the case away from me.

"I'll be honest with you," Michael said in a soft voice, "The research you've done has been outstanding, but it's clear to everyone involved that you have more than a personal interest invested. Your mother lost her life as the result of negligence on behalf of the MID, and it's a conflict of interest for you to continue with this case. We can't allow emotions to cloud our judgment."

I was speechless and emotional, but I refused to shed a tear at the letdown. I straightened my spine and stood taller, then demanded, "So who took over the case?"

Michael sighed before responding, "Adrian Chase. He's been assigned to take it over."

My jaw dropped in disbelief, "You're fucking kidding me?"

Michael's eyes widened at my use of an expletive, but he answered, "No, he's a formidable lawyer. He has the tenacity and tact to go up against someone like MID."

My blood pressure rose with his statement, and I had to take a deep breath to keep from exploding, "So you're saying I don't have what it takes to lead the case? That to win, I'd have to be some kind of criminal like Adrian?"

Michael raised his hands in a way to show he wasn't verbally attacking me, "No, that's not what I'm saying. You're an incredible lawyer, Amelia. But it's unethical for me to allow you to take the lead on a case that caused your mother's death. Also, with the amount of money MID has, I'm worried for your safety. I'd much rather pass this on to someone like Adrian. He has experience getting his hands dirty. If they go lower, he'll go lower."

I was furious, feeling like my entire life was being ripped out from under me.

"I don't need someone like Adrian to do my dirty work. I can handle this case just fine," I retorted.

Michael sighed heavily, "Amelia, I'm not doubting your abilities. But sometimes we need to step back and look at the bigger picture. I'm not saying this is the end for you. There will be plenty of cases in the future where you can prove your worthiness. But for now, I need you to take a step back and let Adrian handle this. He's not doing this for personal reasons. He'll be able to look at this with a clear head and make the right decisions."

I knew Michael was right, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow. As I walked out of his office, I had a million thoughts running through my head. The most prominent one being that I was going to make sure Adrian knew exactly what he was dealing with. I was going to be on his ass every step of the way, ensuring he didn't make any mistakes. I was going to make sure that my mother's death would not go unpunished.

I walked toward the front doors, resigned that my morning was now wide open since Michael wasn't letting me move forward with the suit. With every step, the weight on my shoulders became heavier, until I finally muttered aloud, "Fuck it."

I turned on my heel and headed for Adrian Chase's office. If he was going to swoop in and take my case from me, he was at least going to let me sit down and talk to him about all of the work I'd done thus far. He'd hear my mother's name and know that she was more than just a sacrificial Guinea pig, damn it.

I held my head high as I walked across the courthouse with my mind working a mile a minute. I needed a plan that would convince him to allow me to work alongside him. I knew I'd be an asset, I just had to prove it. Michael's decision to cast me aside and give away my case wasn't going to stop me from being involved in the fight for justice for my mother.

I stood at the end of the hallway where Adrian's office was located, and I took a deep, grounding breath. I locked my emotions down as deeply as I could, and I tried to go over what I was going to say. If he felt like I was being irrational or hysterical, he'd never consider my offer. This might have been one of the most important conversations in my entire life, and I needed every ounce of resolve I could muster.

I felt confident he wouldn't be able to turn me down, so I adjusted the shoulder strap of my mother's bag and listened to my black heels click against the marble of the floor. I grabbed the office door handle with my right hand and braced myself as it opened inward.