Chapter 6: What Elena Found
Elena's office was on the fourth floor of a building downtown, with a window that looked out over the parking garage next door.
It was not a glamorous view.
But Elena was the kind of lawyer who spent her money on research and her time on results, and I had learned to trust that completely.
She had a file open on her desk when I arrived.
She didn't offer coffee.
She turned the file toward me.
"Robert Voss has done this before," she said.
I sat down.
"What do you mean?"
"The right-of-first-refusal clause.
This exact structure.
I found two other properties — one in 2009, one in 2014.
Both involved younger couples.
Both involved a family lawyer inserting the clause into the purchase agreement.
Both times, Robert Voss eventually exercised the right and acquired the property at well below market value."
I looked at the pages in the file.
Names I didn't know.
Addresses in different neighborhoods.
The same clause, almost word for word.
"How did you find this?"
"Property records are public.
Once I knew what I was looking for, it wasn't hard." She leaned forward.
"In the 2014 case, the couple tried to fight it.
They lost, because they couldn't prove the clause had been inserted without proper disclosure.
They had signed the document.
That was enough."
"So we could lose too."
"We could.
But your situation has one difference theirs didn't." She pulled a single sheet from the bottom of the file.
"The lawyer who handled your purchase — Gerald Marsh — lost his license in 2019.
Misconduct.
Specifically, a finding that he had inserted terms into client agreements that benefited third parties without adequate disclosure."
The room felt very still.
"He was disbarred," I said.
"Yes.
Which means the clause in your agreement was inserted by a lawyer who was later found to have done exactly this kind of thing.
That's not proof that your clause is invalid — but it is significant leverage.
A judge would look at this very differently than the 2014 case."
I looked at the sheet.
Gerald Marsh.
Disbarred.
The finding was three pages long.
"What do I do?" I said.
"First, we file a formal challenge to the clause on grounds of inadequate disclosure and attorney misconduct.
Second — and this is important — we need Daniel's cooperation.
Or at minimum, his testimony."
I looked up.
"You want me to ask Daniel to testify against his own family."
"I want you to ask Daniel to tell the truth about what he knew and when he knew it." She held my gaze.
"Do you think he will?"
I thought about the kitchen table.
His hands pressed flat.
The way he hadn't said yes and hadn't said no.
"I don't know," I said honestly.
"Then that's what you need to find out.
Because if Daniel confirms he was pressured into signing — that his mother told him it was a formality, that he didn't understand the implications — that changes everything.
The clause doesn't just become challengeable.
It becomes fraud."
The word sat between us.
"Talk to him," Elena said.
May you like
"Tonight if you can.
Before his mother gets to him first."
