Chapter 36
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The execution of the legal strike was absolute and devastatingly effective. At exactly nine o'clock the following morning, a private process server knocked on the heavy oak doors of Eleanor's massive estate and handed her the thick envelope containing Attorney Davis's demands.
I was standing in the clinic lobby when Davis called me to report the success.
"She has been served," Davis announced over the phone. "And I have already submitted the IP evidence directly to the legal departments of Google and Yelp. The fake reviews should be purged from their servers within the next forty-eight hours."
"Did Eleanor contact you?" I asked, looking out the front windows of the clinic.
"Her lawyers did," Davis chuckled darkly. "They called me ten minutes ago, completely panicked. I told them that if she comes within five hundred feet of your clinic or your sister, I will file the half-million-dollar lawsuit before lunch. They assured me she will comply completely."
I hung up the phone and let out a long, heavy sigh. The digital siege was broken.
Over the next two days, the platforms meticulously scrubbed the fake reviews from Sovereign Physical Therapy's profiles, restoring my flawless five-star rating. The clinic's schedule filled back up, and the brief, terrifying storm Eleanor had conjured was completely neutralized by the solid walls of my boundaries.
Chloe stood behind the reception desk, watching me as I walked out of the treatment room.
"It's over, isn't it?" Chloe asked, a sense of profound relief washing over her features.
"It's over," I confirmed, smiling brightly.
May you like
"I want to stay here, Maya," Chloe said, her voice stronger than I had ever heard it. "Not just in the guest room. I want to work here officially. I want to help you build this place."
"You already are," I laughed, walking over to hug her tightly. The generational curse of manipulation and fear that had suffocated our family for decades was finally, completely shattered. We had survived the fire, and now, we were going to thrive in the light.
