👉 Previous Decision: The expired contract clause completely invalidated Marcus’s legal rights.
Armed with the photographs of the 1998 contract, I drove directly to Samuel Ellis’s office. The drive felt different, lighter. The oppressive weight of Marcus’s threats had begun to lift.
Samuel Ellis listened intently, his expression shifting from polite skepticism to widening disbelief as I detailed Chloe’s testimony and the discovery of the expired clause. I projected the photographs of the contract onto his office screen.
“Section 6.2,” I pointed, my finger tracing the lines on the screen. “Twenty years. Expired, completely.”
Samuel adjusted his glasses, leaning closer to the screen. He read the clause twice, his lips moving silently. Then he looked up at me, a stunned look on his face.
“Arthur, this changes everything,” he said, his voice hushed. “This isn’t just a technicality. This completely undermines Marcus Kincaid’s core legal argument for claiming first right of refusal. It renders his current contracts, the ones he’s been waving around, virtually meaningless in this context.”
“And Chloe has a signed statement about Hobbs,” I added, handing him the document Chloe had given me in her car.
Samuel read Chloe’s statement, outlining Marcus’s leverage over Harold Hobbs. He nodded slowly. “Evidence of coercion against a public official. That’s a very serious offense, far beyond a civil dispute.”
Samuel immediately began dictating instructions to his assistant, his demeanor suddenly energized.
“We’ll submit an emergency motion to the LA Superior Court Probate Division first thing tomorrow,” he announced, turning back to me. “We’ll include a copy of this 1998 contract and Chloe’s sworn statement. This evidence will force Judge Vance to review the freeze order on an accelerated timeline.”
“And the LAPD?” I asked.
“Yes, simultaneously,” Samuel confirmed, already on the phone. “This crosses into criminal territory now. Blackmail, attempted fraud against an estate. We’ll file a formal complaint with the LAPD Financial Crimes Unit. Detective Robert Ruiz is the investigator I’ll recommend for this type of probate fraud.”
I watched Samuel work, a quiet storm of legal action swirling around him. The weight of bureaucracy, which Marcus had so cleverly wielded, was now turning against him. The law, slow and methodical, was finally in motion on our side.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 9A to continue the story
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