Chapter 21 What’s Rightfully Yours
Elena woke up to someone Knocking on her door.
Not her bedroom door but the apartment door. It was firm, like an official Knocking that made her stomach tightened even before she was fully awake.
She heard Pierce move in the living room, heard his footsteps cross to the door.
"Can I help you?" His voice was cold.
"Delivery for Elena Davis." A male voice spoke. "Needs a signature."
Elena climbed out of bed, grabbing her robe. When she came out, Pierce was holding a large manila envelope, his expression unreadable.
"It's from a law firm," he said, handing it to her.
Elena stared at the return address. Eva & Price, LLP. Her stomach dropped.
She knew that name. They'd represented her uncle when her parents died. When the company transferred to him.
"What is it?" Pierce asked.
Elena opened the envelope with shaking hands and pulled out the paperwork inside. Official letterhead. Dense paragraphs of legal jargon.
She scanned the first page, her chest tightening with each line.
RE: Final Transfer of D'Corporation Ownership Rights
"Elena?" Pierce's voice was closer now. "What is it?"
She kept reading, the words blurring together. She saw words like Relinquish, transfer, finalize. Sign here.
And at the bottom, in smaller text: Failure to comply may result in legal action to recover costs associated with company transition and outstanding debts allegedly incurred during ownership dispute.
"My uncle," Elena said, her voice hollow. "He wants me to sign away my rights to my father's company."
Pierce went very still. "Your father had a company?"
"D'Corporation. It's a tech development. My dad started it twenty years ago." Elena sank onto the couch, still holding the papers. "When he died, everything went to my uncle Alfred. My dad's younger brother."
"Why didn't it go to you?"
Elena laughed bitterly. "I was twenty-two. In medical school. I was grieving. Alfred convinced me I wasn't ready to run a company. That he'd take care of everything until I was." She gestured to the papers. "Guess he's decided I'm never going to be ready."
Pierce sat down beside her, close enough that their knees almost touched. "Let me see."
Elena handed him the letter. She watched his eyes scan the page, saw his jaw tighten with each paragraph.
"It's a threat." Pierce's said finally. "He's saying sign this or he'll sue you for money you supposedly owe him. Money from a 'dispute' that never existed."
"He took over the company legally." Elena said, her voice low. "I signed papers giving him temporary control."
"Temporary." Pierce looked at her. "This isn't temporary. This is him trying to steal what's rightfully yours."
"I don't want it," Elena said quietly. "I never wanted it. The company was my dad's dream, not mine."
"That's not the point." Pierce voice was sharp.
"Then what is the point, Pierce?" Elena's voice rose. "That I should fight my uncle over a company I have no interest in running? That I should drag myself through legal battles when I'm barely holding my life together as it is?"
"The point is he's threatening you." His jaw tightened. "Trying to intimidate you into giving up something valuable."
"Let him have it." Elena stood, wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't care about the money. I don't care about the company. I just want him to leave me alone."
Pierce stood too, the letter still in his hand. "When did he first ask you to sign?"
"What?"
"These papers." He pointed to the papers. "When did he first ask you to sign them?"
Elena's brow furrowed. "Three years ago. Right after my parents died. He said it was just temporary paperwork to allow him to run things while I finished school."
"And since then?"
"He's sent papers a few times. Every six months or so. Always the same thing, sign over my rights, make the transfer permanent." She shrugged. "I always ignored them."
"So why is he pushing now?" Pierce's eyes narrowed. "Why this specific threat about legal action?"
"I don't know." Elena said, already tired of all the questions. "Maybe he's tired of waiting."
"Or maybe something's changed." Pierce pulled out his phone. "What's the company's full name?"
"Pierce, don't..."
He was already typing. Elena watched as he pulled up what looked like financial records, corporate filings, news articles.
His expression darkened.
"What?" Elena moved closer despite herself.
"D'Corporation just secured a major government contract. Defense technology." He paused. "Worth about two hundred million."
Elena's breath caught. "What?"
"Your uncle just made the company extremely valuable." Pierce kept scrolling. "And if you're still listed as a partial owner, even temporarily, you'd have rights to a portion of that."
The implication hit her like a truck. "So he wants me to sign away my rights before I realize what the company's worth."
"Exactly." Pierce's jaw was tight. "He's been waiting for this. Probably knew the contract was coming. That's why he's threatening legal action now, he needs you to sign before you figure it out."
Elena sank back onto the couch, her mind reeling. Two hundred million dollars. Her father's company, the one he'd built from nothing, was suddenly worth a fortune.
And her uncle wanted to cut her out completely.
"I need to make a call," Pierce said, already dialing.
"Pierce, wait..."
"Marcus. I need background on Alfred Davis. Full financial history, business dealings, everything." A pause. "I don't care how long it takes. I want it today." Another pause. "Yeah. All of it."
He hung up and looked at Elena. "We're going to find out exactly what your uncle's been doing with your father's company."
"We?" Elena stood, anger flashing through her shock. "There's no we in this. This is my family, my business..."
"And he's threatening you." Pierce's voice was steel. "That makes it my business."
Elena wanted to scream. Wanted to throw something. "You can't just insert yourself into every part of my life!"
"I'm protecting what's yours."
"It's not yours to protect!"
"Everything about you is mine to protect now."
The words hung in the air between them, charged and dangerous.
"Why?" Elena's voice came out smaller than she intended. "Why do you care about this?"
Pierce's expression shifted, something raw flickering across his face. "Because he's taking advantage of your grief. Using your parents' death to steal from you. And I..." He stopped, jaw working. "I won't let that happen."
"You can't fix this, Pierce." Her voice was sharp. "You can't fix any of this."
"Maybe not." Pierce said firmly. "But I can make sure he doesn't get away with it."
"What are you going to do?" she asked quietly.
"First, we're going to find out exactly what Alfred has been doing with the company. Where the money's going, what deals he's made, if there's anything illegal."
"And then?"
"Then we decide how to handle it." Pierce's voice softened slightly. "But you're not signing those papers. Not until we know what we're dealing with."
Elena met Pierce's eyes, and something in her chest loosened slightly. "Why are you being nice about this?"
"I just don't like watching people get screwed over by family who should protect them."
Before Elena could respond, Pierce's phone rang. He answered immediately.
"Yeah... Already?... Send it to me." He hung up and looked at Elena. "Marcus found something."
"That was fast."
"He's good at his job." Pierce's phone buzzed with an incoming email. He opened it, his expression darkening as he read. "Your uncle's been using company funds for personal expenses. Real estate purchases, luxury cars, a yacht."
"That's... is that illegal?"
"Depends on how it's documented. But it's definitely unethical." Pierce kept reading. "And there's this, he took a loan against the company three months ago. Used the government contract as collateral before it was even finalized."
"What does that mean?"
"It means if the contract falls through, the company could be in serious debt." Pierce paused, letting the words sink in. "Debt that you'd be partially responsible for if you're still listed as an owner."
Elena felt sick. "So he's not just trying to steal from me. He's trying to make me responsible for his mistakes."
"Exactly."
The betrayal cut deeper than Elena expected. Alfred had been at her parents' funeral. Had hugged her, told her everything would be okay. Had promised to take care of her father's legacy.
And all along, he'd been planning this.
"I want to fight him," Elena said suddenly, surprising herself.
Pierce looked up. "You sure?"
"No. But I'm tired of people taking things from me." Her voice hardened. "My parents. My freedom. My life. I'm not letting him take this too."
Something fierce and approving flashed in Pierce's eyes. "Okay. Then we fight."
"I don't know how."
"That's why you have me."
Elena wanted to argue with the assumption, with the way he'd just inserted himself into her life completely.
But for the first time in three years, she didn't feel alone in this.
And that was worth more than her pride.
"What's the first step?" she asked.
Pierce's smile was sharp, dangerous. "We make your uncle very nervous."