Do you want to uproot the Sterling family
"Just keep that in mind," Caleb Sterling said. "We're partners in this, so we can't just give up halfway. You need to handle your end."
Avery pressed her lips together. She had zero interest in the feud between the two branches of the Sterling family.
As long as Caleb didn't screw this up for her, she'd be satisfied.
The last thing she needed was to waste her time and energy feeding him intel, only for him to get sidetracked and give his uncle, Warren Sterling, a chance to catch his breath, regroup, and wiggle out of the mess at Sterling Foods.
They talked for a few more minutes, and Caleb laid out his plan. With Warren in the hospital and Ronan Bowen out of the country, he wanted to pull off something big, something that would hit Warren's side of the family where it hurt, even if it didn't destroy them completely.
Avery had some dirt, sure, but it was mostly related to factory safety accidents, which wasn't much of a threat right now. To pull off what Caleb was dreaming of, they needed the sample test reports for Sterling Foods. And they'd need a lot of them.
Honestly, the real silver bullet would be a tax problem. That was the Achilles' heel of any major corporation. But her contact, the one she called the Analysis Master, hadn't even started digging into that yet. He'd only managed to get his people inside the company two days ago.
Besides, sample testing takes time. The Analyst had updated her three days prior; the product samples had been sent out, but the reports wouldn't be back for another seven to fifteen days.
By her math, that meant at least ten more days of waiting.
In that time, if either Warren or Ronan came back, Caleb's window of opportunity would slam shut.
Warren had already been burned online by her and Caleb a few times now, and he'd learned his lesson. His PR team was way faster at damage control than they'd been when his daughter, Lorraine, was first exposed. Pulling the same trick again would be nearly impossible.
Avery frowned, thinking. "Warren's on high alert," she finally said. "Trying to use public opinion to attack Sterling Foods again probably won't work."
"Then what do we do?" Caleb asked, a new edge of anxiety in his voice. This chance was just too good to waste. His cousin Bryce was in jail, his uncle Warren was in the hospital, and Ronan Bowen was gone. An opportunity like this might never come again.
Avery handed her empty glass to Shane, who was sitting beside her, and silently asked him for some water.
Her throat was getting dry. She switched the phone to her other ear and said calmly, "If that approach is out, we find another one. Public opinion is a weapon, but it's not what will actually bring down the Sterlings. The law is."
She paused. "Can you get your hands on the tax reports for Sterling Foods?"
They had to attack from both sides. While her analyst worked his angle, Caleb needed to make a move, too.
"I can't," Caleb admitted. "Lorraine handles all their company finances."
Avery was quiet for a second. When she spoke again, her voice was dripping with disappointment. "Are you serious? How do you expect to take down Sterling Foods with an attitude like that?"
The jab hit a nerve, but Caleb didn't get angry.
"I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed," he said, "but I know how to seize an opportunity. Look at me, I haven't even done much, and my uncle's family is already in chaos."
It was, he thought, as if heaven itself was on his side.
"If you hadn't been so determined to put Bryce in jail, none of this would have been possible. I would have just been dreaming about this stuff, never daring to actually try. But now, not only have I made my move, I want the whole damn pie."
Avery didn't respond. The image of Caleb lurking in the shadows like a snake ready to strike sent a brief chill down her spine. But it passed quickly. She'd known what kind of person he was from the moment they started working together and had been on her guard ever since.
"Find out which country in Latin America Ronan Bowen went to and why," Avery said, her composure restored as she laid out the new plan.
"And track down the source of Sterling Foods' funding as fast as you can.
In a few days, we're going to hit Warren from a different angle."
With that, she hung up and tossed her phone onto the sofa cushion.
Shane handed her the fresh glass of water and came to stand behind the sofa. "Are you really trying to take down the entire Sterling family?"
"I'm the one who put their heir in prison," Avery said, taking a small sip to wet her lips. "The second Warren gets back on his feet, he's going to come after me. I'd rather not just disappear one day."
"The Sterlings are a huge company with deep ties to the city government," Wyatt said from across the room, his jaw tight. "They won't be easy to touch."
Avery set her glass on the coffee table and gave him a cool smile. "That's why I went into the entertainment industry."
She didn't need to finish the thought. Both Wyatt and Shane knew exactly what she meant.
"You planned this from the very beginning," Wyatt said, his voice full of shock. He never would have guessed that her acting career was just a means to an end, a way to build the influence she needed to take on the Sterlings.
Avery just smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.
Shane was quiet for a moment before his voice cut through the silence, lower and hoarser than usual. "Did Caleb say on the phone that Ronan Bowen went to Latin America?"
Avery nodded.
Shane's eyes darkened in thought. "Tell him to check the Republic of Valora. It's very likely that's where Ronan went."
Avery looked up, surprised that he would know something so specific. Shane, however, offered no explanation.
Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment before she lowered her lashes, a flicker of understanding in her eyes.
There were clearly some things Shane couldn't talk about, and she knew better than to press him, especially if it was related to his military service.
Instead, she picked up her phone and sent a quick message to Caleb, relaying Shane's tip.
After sending the text, Avery sat for a little while longer before heading upstairs to her apartment on the twenty-third floor. Dealing with the Sterlings was important, but so was her career. After freshening up, she put on the audiobook of the Labor Law again, clearing her head.
The next day, her agent, Diana, flew back to California from New York, bringing with her the complete script for *You Are My Defender*.
She immediately connected Avery with the scriptwriter, Clara King, to go over revisions.
The changes were minor, the plot remained the same, but they needed to adjust some of the legal cases, titles, and professional jargon.
It wasn't a difficult job, and they finished the entire script within a week, while Diana waited in town to get the final version.
Meanwhile, the short drama Leo had invested in finished filming. As it happened, the project Owen and Maya were starring in wrapped around the same time. The three of them got together to celebrate, and, over the course of a single meal, they somehow cooked up a plan for their next production.
Leo was footing the bill again, but this time he'd roped Ethan and Zachary into it with him.
The three rich kids scraped together two hundred thousand dollars to film a full-fledged web series.
Owen and Maya were set as the leads, and they planned to cast the other roles.
To top it all off, Joel Duke signed back on as director.
Just like that, their makeshift crew was back in business.
Avery had just finished the script revisions when Leo came calling, trying to drag her into their project for some free labor. The nerve of the guy, he actually wanted her to draft their actor contracts.
She refused. Stellar Media had a legal department for a reason. Why would she, an actress, step on their toes? It was a thankless job that would only piss off the company lawyers. She wasn't stupid enough to make that mistake.
The same day she shut down Leo's request, the film crew for the cross-dressing lawyer drama returned from their location shoot.
That very night, Avery got the call: she was scheduled to be on set the next day to start filming.
Her role as the lawyer had more screen time than her part in *The World's Game*, and it was expected to take two full days to shoot, the longest she'd ever filmed for a guest appearance.