Page 79 of His Forced Bride
"How solid are her claims?" I ask him, standing back while he pulls his key out.
"Solid enough to cause problems."
Ian unlocks his office door and gestures me inside.
"She has handwriting experts willing to testify that Semyon forged signatures on the exclusion documents. Forensic analysts who can prove the papers were backdated."
I take the chair across from his desk, studying the files spread across the surface.
There are legal documents, expert reports, witness statements—the ammunition Viktoria has gathered to destroy her daughter's inheritance.
"What about the statute of limitations?"
I ask, feeling like there has to be some sort of defense I can conjure up.
"Doesn't apply to fraud cases. If she can prove Semyon forged documents to strip her of her rightful claims, there's no time limit on challenging the results."
The man waddles around his desk and sits down as the implications crystallize.
Viktoria can tie up Inessa's inheritance in court for years, drain the company's resources through legal fees, create enough uncertainty to collapse the business entirely.
Even if she ultimately loses, the process itself becomes the weapon.
"She's not interested in winning," I realize aloud.
"She's interested in leverage."
"Exactly. This isn't about the money. It's about forcing a settlement."
I lean back in the chair and think about what outcome she could possibly desire from all of this.
She walked out on him more than a decade ago and wanted nothing to do with him or her child.
"What does she want?"
"Access to her daughter. And control over the settlement terms."
He shrugs his shoulder as he loosens his tie and sighs heavily.
"She's not in her right mind, Yuri. If she's going for the girl, it means?—"
"She wants everything."
"Eventually, yes. Inessa signs over her inheritance to avoid years of litigation, and Viktoria walks away with an empire she never built."
Ian runs a hand over his face.
Then he pulls his handkerchief out and mops his forehead.
The predatory brilliance of the strategy impresses me despite myself.
Viktoria has found the one weapon that can't be countered through violence—the legal system's capacity for bureaucratic torture.
She's betting that Inessa will sacrifice her inheritance to avoid watching it die slowly in court.
"Schedule a meeting," I grumble, and he perks up.
"With opposing counsel?"
