LTSV - Harbingers of Change - 41 (Patreon)

The lawyers provided by Mira's maternal grandfather were a pair of older gentleman in nearly matching suits. It was a bit of a gimmick. They were a pair of twins in their late fifties: the Misters Morello and Morello of Morello and Morello, Attorneys at Law.

She hadn't expected to merit the attention of the named partners, but she authorized their entry into the Tower. Soneares had asked to use Mira's office for the meeting, since she had a small conference table in there.

"It's so good to meet you as an adult at last, Miss Bellamy," Tim Morello, the elder twin, greeted her with a double-handed handshake. "This is my brother, John. You won't recall us, but we've been your trustees since you were a baby. You don't know how happy we are to finally get to see you in person."

"I think my wife has stopped joking when she complains about you being our third child, who we never get to see," John joked. "One day, when we don't have more pressing matters, I have stories to tell you about the meetings I've had with your schools and hospitals."

Mira blinked, nonplussed. "Virgil had a lawyer visit my schools?"

John shook his head. "No, I was visiting on behalf of the trust whenever something needed to be paid for. It has been the official position of your trustees for a while now that all your eligible expenses should be paid for directly by the trust. We also had the authority to give you permission to attend school events and trips when your father was unavailable." He turned to his brother. "I think Tim also had to pick you up from grade school a few times when you got sick."

"You spent more than a few afternoons asleep on the couch in my office," Tim confirmed sadly. "You probably don't remember."

The thing was that Mira thought she did. She squinted as she chased the memory. Her early memories of being Samira weren't good. Losing your early childhood memories was a common problem for children who grew up in neglectful homes so she wasn't surprised that she didn't remember the people involved, just a vague recollection of being hot and unhappy on a hard couch in a place that wasn't her home. "Was it a leather couch with rounded arms?" she asked. "I remember someone giving me cocoa in a paper cup."

"That was my secretary's doing," Tim confirmed. "She put chili flakes in it. She has strong feelings about giving children cold food, especially when they're sick."

"I thought you worked for my father," Mira told him.

"Strictly speaking, I work for you," he corrected her gently and sat his briefcase on the table. "I was not happy to learn that Virgil Bellamy managed to slip that conservatorship past us. At least this explains why we haven't had access to you in so long. He's been working hard to keep your life behind shrouded behind a veil of secrecy. I'll be very interested to learn which judge signed off on this farce. We should have been involved, if only because of the trust."

Mira realized that this could only have worked in a Soap Opera. Otherwise, there was no way her mother's lawyers could have been shut out of the trial. They would have found out when the court requested documentation about the 2.5 million dollar trust fund intended for her. There was no way that the judge wouldn't want to know about that.

Fucking Soap Operas!

"You and me both," John sighed. He glanced at Soneares. "May we meet your companion?"

Mira gestured Soneares forward. "This is Soneares, my legal advisor. She represents me on behalf of the LivingShadow Guild. She's a citizen of the Altiviri Triumvirate and her people have decided to sponsor us. She has been researching the conservatorship for me, but her background is in System and Triumvirate Law, which is why we're so relieved to have your help. She is also the one who was able to connect me with my grandfather and, by extension, your law firm."

Both Tim and John did an admirable job of not letting their jaws drop, but Mira could tell they wanted to. Tim recovered first and offered Soneares a sincere handshake.

"I'm always happy to meet another scholar of the law," he told her. "I have a thousand questions about your specialization and experience. You'll have to let us take you for coffee and a long talk at some point."

"Of course," Soneares agreed and her accent made her voice sound a little bit like she was singing. "If you help us unsnarl Hunter Bellamy's legal tangle, I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have."

That sobered the two lawyers.

"Let's discuss that," Tim said. Mira did not like the crease between his eyebrows.

"We'll start with the good news," John said, once everyone had seated themselves and Morwen had come by to distribute coffee. Bertram had apparently done a master class on operating the espresso machine and now there were plenty of people who could operate it. "Your order of protection has a time limit. This conservatorship went into effect a few days before you turned eighteen. In this province, the maximum duration of this kind of order is fifteen years. The conservatorship will automatically expire when you turn thirty-three. If Virgil wants to tie down your assets for longer then there will have to be a new trial and the records of his prior term of guardianship will be audited by the court. They should be getting audited now, in fact. A guardian doesn't have free reign over your life. They have to regularly prove that they are managing your assets responsibly and that you are in good health."

That possibly explained the Aston Martin Volante and Mira's wardrobe. She'd been regularly photographed with both. Her weight had been concerning, but that was a common problem for girls in the set that she'd run with when she wasn't welcome at home.

This even might explain why the Bellamys refused to let her be drug tested and their threats to send her to rehab never materialized, all while they also crafted the narrative that she was the family's hopeless junkie. If there was actually evidence that she'd relapsed into active addition then the court might well have assigned her a new guardian.

"I take it my presence was never required for these audits," Mira guessed.

He affirmed her suspicion. "It should have been, but it looks like your court liaison was satisfied with photographs and videos from your social media and signed off on Virgil's continued guardianship."

"What is the bad news?" she asked.

"The bad news is that Virgil has a solid paper trail proving that he has been a responsible custodian of your person. He hasn't been as careful with your assets, but the fact that your trust fund remains untouched may work against us if we try to argue that he's absorbed all the rental income from your properties. It will also be difficult to prove that he isn't holding your money on your behalf."

"All he has to do is name you as the beneficiary of his accounts and he can say that the money is actually yours and will revert to you in the event that something unexpected happens to him. Most of his expenditures are on lifestyle maintenance, particularly women's clothing, and it would be hard to prove that wasn't all for you. In addition to that, he's allowed to draw a salary in exchange for his supervision of you. I suspect what he's doing is paying himself from your income while diverting all his wife and daughter's expenses to your accounts. His family is supported in style and he has a paper trail that shows he makes an effort to keep you in comfortable luxury. Even this Mason Dietrich person looks like an excellent marriage candidate on paper; good education, good family, good income. His people have gone to a lot of trouble to cover up his mental health issues."

"That is not the kind of fraud that will escape the System's notice," Soneares warned them, turning to Mira. "It will pay attention to who has actually received the goods and services in dispute. It sounds like our best option may be to make our case in front of a Triumvirate representative. They almost always let the System decide, especially this soon after a Gate Incursion. The only problem is that the System likes to be presented with a choice between two reasonable solutions before it arbitrates. If we go that route, we're unlikely to get the conservatorship overturned. We'll have to push to a change of guardian. I'm sure Lord Adramalak would agree to be nominated as your new guardian."

Mira tried to hide her reflexive grimace. She loved her husband, but having to ask his permission every time she wanted to access the System Shop or make a large purchase was only a mild improvement over having to kiss up to Virgil.

"Lord whomst?" Tim asked, sounding skeptical.

"The Dark Lord Adramalak is the Triumvirate Patron of this guild," Soneares explained. "He's also the reigning King of my home world. It's in his best interests to ensure that his hunters are safe and free from coercion."

Tim and John exchanged worried glances, as one might when someone else casually volunteered a foreign monarch as a potential guarantor for Mira's good behavior.

They came up with a counter argument, but Mira's attention was fading. If Soneares said that appealing to a Triumvirate Rep was their best option then she believed it. She just didn't want her husband to become her authority figure. She had total faith he'd rubber stamp her every decision, but she didn't want to have to ask him for permission.

Eventually, Soneares, Tim, and John argued themselves to a standstill and reluctantly agreed to table the decision about who to approach as Mira's replacement guardian until they'd both had a chance to research their candidates.

"I'll follow you downstairs," Soneares promised them as they packed up. "Her Grace, the Dark Lady Alanamira, has authorized access cards for the both of you. They'll admit you into the lobby and the first floor safe rooms. You'll be permitted entry in the event of a Dungeon Break. I want to show you how to get there before you leave today."

Mira stopped in mid-stride and let them walk off without her as a wonderful, terrible idea occurred to her.

There was a very good chance that this wouldn't work, but if she could pull it off then she'd never have to ask anyone for permission to run her own life ever again.

She hurried over to Adra's office, unwilling to address his shadow matter when there were strangers in the building. He looked up from a glowing crystal pyramid with a smile as she closed the door behind herself.

"What a welcome interruption," he said and came over to give her a welcoming forehead kiss. "Did your conversation with the human lawyers go better than it sounded? You seem like you've had an idea."

Mira cupped his cheeks and pulled him down to eye level. "Adra, I need to know how you managed to get the System to recognize you as two different people."

Note: This chapter was derailed first by my freelance career and then by the sudden, mortifying realization that I'd missed a beat from from my beat sheet. Things must happen in order!!! So I was rewriting this in a panic. DX