Chapter 142 Going Out of Business?
Lila was either talking to me or just mumbling to herself, "If this keeps up, Stellar Legal Advisors might go under."
She looked seriously worried, her brows all scrunched up, her hand absentmindedly playing with a pen on the table.
Seeing her so lost in thought, I had to cut in, "Lila, I think the problem might be me. Maybe I should leave Stellar Legal Advisors."
My voice was shaky, and it felt like every word took all my strength. "If I go, with your skills and our awesome team of lawyers, Stellar Legal Advisors will definitely bounce back." I looked at her, feeling a mix of guilt and reluctance.
Lila looked shocked, her eyes wide. "You think it's because of you? How could that be?"
I nodded, feeling the weight of it. "I think Edward is targeting me." Just saying his name made me angry and helpless.
"What do you mean?" Lila put down the pen, looking confused.
"It's likely Edward is causing all this trouble." I bit my lip and clenched my fists. "He wants to leave me with no options, so I have to go back to him and be under his control."
I told her everything about Edward showing up at my apartment, his controlling behavior, and the cameras I found later. "So I think if I leave, these problems will go away, and Stellar Legal Advisors will bounce back."
Lila shook her head vigorously, her eyes filled with determination. "Then you can't leave! If you go now, you're just falling into his trap. No way, I won't let you go!" She stood up, walked over, and grabbed my shoulders, trying to pass her determination to me.
"Lila." My voice broke, tears welling up. "If I stay, I'll drag you and the whole firm down. I can't be that selfish. I can't ruin everyone's hard work because of me."
Lila shook her head firmly, her eyes blazing with anger. "Even if I have to give up Stellar Legal Advisors, I won't let him hurt you again. You're my friend and part of this firm. We have to face these challenges together, not run away."
"I don't want to run away either, but what do we do now?" I felt completely lost, like I was in a vast darkness with no light in sight.
"Diana, do you think we can ask Nolan for help? He's got a big name in this industry." Lila's eyes lit up with hope, but then she deflated, muttering, "No, how can I embarrass myself in front of Nolan? Plus, he's our competitor now. Some of our lawyers have joined him. It'd be so awkward to ask him for help." She slumped, looking dejected.
I gently held her hand. "We don't have many options left. We can't just watch Stellar Legal Advisors go down. I'll contact Nolan and see if we can meet and talk."
Even as I said it, I wasn't sure if Nolan would be willing to help. Lila thought it over for a bit, realizing we didn't have any better options, and reluctantly nodded. I pulled out my phone and dialed Nolan's number, my heart racing, not sure what to expect.
The call connected quickly, and hearing his familiar, deep voice brought back a flood of memories from our time at the firm. "Nolan!" I tried to keep my voice steady, taking a moment to calm myself.
"Diana, it's me." His tone was calm as ever, like a still lake. "I was just about to call you, but you beat me to it."
Sensing he might know something, I didn't hold back. "Nolan, do you know anything?"
Nolan sighed, a hint of worry in his voice. "I'm on a business trip right now, super busy. But I've heard a lot of lawyers from Stellar Legal Advisors have joined us recently. What's going on?"
"Stellar Legal Advisors isn't getting any new cases. If it were just about our abilities, we'd deal with it. But even the cases we were working on have been abruptly terminated. It's too weird. The more I think about it, the more I believe Edward is sabotaging us." I let it all out, feeling like these words had been bottled up for too long.
Nolan fell into a heavy silence, the weight of my revelation settling between us.
"Nolan, are you there?" I asked, my palms sweating.
"Diana, I'll look into what you said. Are you with Lila now?" Nolan asked.
I nodded instinctively, then quickly said, "Yes."
Nolan said, "Okay, let me talk to Lila."
I had the call on speaker, so Lila heard Nolan asking for her. Startled, she nervously cleared her throat, her cheeks flushing slightly, and her eyes showing a hint of panic facing her idol in such an unexpected situation. "Mr. Scott."
"Lila, how many lawyers and cases does your team have now?" Nolan asked directly, his tone serious.
Lila frowned, a hint of hesitation in her eyes. She glanced between me and the phone, unsure how to answer.
Nolan cut through her hesitation, "Just tell the truth."
Lila took a deep breath and said with difficulty, "We have less than 10 cases now, and besides Diana and me, only four or five lawyers left." Her voice was low, and after speaking, her eyes showed a hint of despair and helplessness.
Nolan was silent for a moment, the brief pause making time seem to freeze. Then he slowly said, "I'll do my best to find out if there's really someone behind this, as Diana said."
"Mr. Scott, are you really willing to help us?" Lila's eyes flashed with surprise, her voice trembling with excitement. She could hardly believe her ears. It was like she saw a glimmer of hope in the darkness; her previously dull eyes suddenly brightened.
"Of course, but I'm just a lawyer, not a miracle worker, so I can only do my best." Nolan's tone was sincere and earnest.
Lila was so moved that her eyes welled up. Her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you for helping us. You have no idea what this means to us."
"You're welcome. We're alumni; we should support each other. Besides, for David's sake, I'll do my best to help." With that, Nolan hung up, leaving Lila still lost in this sudden sense of hope.
For a moment, I couldn't understand what this had to do with David.
But then, the fog before my eyes began to clear, and both Lila and I were a bit excited. Less than an hour later, Nolan called back. He told us over the phone that it was indeed Edward who was causing trouble behind the scenes.
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