Chapter 3: Claiming the Crown

Chapter 3: Claiming the Crown

The harsh light of dawn streamed through Tiana’s window, finding her in the exact same spot she’d been in hours earlier. The laptop was still warm, the Ohio Secretary of State's website still glowing on the screen. The word EXPIRED was a beacon in the pre-dawn gloom. For the first time since her world had been upended, a genuine, predatory smile touched her lips. Sterling Taylor III had called her irrelevant. He had dismissed her facts. Now, she had a fact he couldn't ignore, a truth certified by the state itself.

But a discovery was not a weapon. Not yet.

Her gaze drifted to her online banking portal, open in another tab. The balance was painfully low. After the down payment on the K5 and her regular expenses, her savings—the safety net she had painstakingly woven for years—was terrifyingly thin. The fee to file for a new business name wasn't exorbitant, but it was more than just a filing fee. It was a bet. It was her grocery money, her emergency fund, her last shred of financial security, all pushed onto one crazy, audacious wager.

She thought of Sterling's condescending smirk, the way he had turned his back on her as if swatting a fly. She remembered the faces of her colleagues, their expressions a cocktail of pity and gossip. The humiliation was a physical ache. Fear was a luxury she could no longer afford. Rage was the only fuel she had left.

With a click that felt as loud as a gunshot in the silent apartment, she initiated the transfer. She filled out the online application, her fingers steady, her mind sharp and clear. For ‘Registrant Name,’ she typed: Tiana Reyes. For ‘Business Name,’ she typed the sixteen letters that had become her mantra: Taylor Kia of Lima.

She hit ‘Submit.’ The screen refreshed, a small loading icon spinning for an eternity. And then, it was done. A confirmation email arrived instantly. The official certificate, it said, would be processed and available for download within the hour. She had done it. She had stolen the crown right off the prince's head.

An hour later, she held the printed certificate in her hands. The paper was still warm from the printer. It was a simple document, black text on a plain white background, embossed with the state seal. But to Tiana, it felt heavier than a block of gold. She was now, in the eyes of the law, the sole proprietor of ‘Taylor Kia of Lima.’ The dealership, the signs, the branding, the multimillion-dollar enterprise—it was all operating under a name that now belonged to her.

A giddy, slightly hysterical laugh escaped her lips. She had the weapon. But holding a grenade and knowing how to pull the pin and throw it were two very different things. She was a data analyst, not a litigator. One wrong move and this whole brilliant, insane plan could blow up in her face. She needed a lawyer.

Not one of Sterling’s polished, thousand-dollar-an-hour corporate sharks. They would laugh her out of their marble-lobbied offices. She needed someone different. Someone hungry. Someone who understood what it felt like to be on the outside, looking in.

Her research skills, honed over years of digital sleuthing, shifted from corporate malfeasance to the local legal landscape. She filtered out the big firms, the ambulance chasers with cheesy slogans. She searched for key phrases: "contingency basis," "corporate litigation," "sued Goliath." One name kept popping up in obscure legal blogs and small-press news articles, often attached to cases that were long shots, fighting for clients with no money against opponents with bottomless pockets.

Leo Vance.

His office was the polar opposite of Sterling Taylor’s glass palace. It was a cramped, second-floor walk-up above a falafel shop, the air thick with the scent of cumin and old paper. The space was a chaotic explosion of law books, precariously stacked case files, and scrawled-on legal pads. In the center of the beautiful mess stood a man who seemed to be powered by pure nervous energy.

Leo Vance was in his early thirties, his suit inexpensive but clean, his tie slightly askew. He was pacing relentlessly in the narrow space between his desk and a bookshelf, running a hand through his already disheveled hair as he dictated a stream of legal jargon into a small recorder. He looked tired, overworked, and completely alive.

He stopped mid-pace when he saw her standing in the doorway. "Can I help you?" he asked, his gaze intense, his mind clearly still juggling a dozen different legal arguments.

"My name is Tiana Reyes," she said, her voice steady. "I was told you're not afraid to pick fights with giants."

A flicker of interest crossed his face. "I'm not afraid of them, no. Affording the fight is usually the issue. Have a seat, if you can find one." He gestured to a chair buried under a stack of files.

Tiana didn't sit. She walked to his cluttered desk, placed the business registration certificate on the only clear space available, and slid it towards him.

"A month ago, I bought a new Kia K5 from Taylor Kia of Lima," she began, her tone crisp and factual. "Yesterday, they illegally repossessed it in front of my entire office, claiming I missed payments, which is false. I have irrefutable proof."

Leo nodded, his expression sympathetic but weary. "He said, she said. Arbitration clause in the sales contract will bury you. It's a tough fight."

"I'm not here to talk about the car," Tiana said, tapping a single, deliberate finger on the certificate. "I'm here to talk about their name."

Leo picked up the document. He read the first line. Then he read it again. His pacing stopped. The ambient noise of the street outside seemed to fade away. A slow, incredulous grin spread across his face, transforming his tired features into something boyish and dangerous.

"No," he whispered, a laugh bubbling up from his chest. "You're kidding me." He looked up at her, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and sheer, unadulterated glee. "They let it lapse? The Taylor Automotive Group, the billion-dollar behemoth, forgot to file a hundred-dollar renewal form?"

"Their arrogance is their primary shortcoming," Tiana stated flatly.

"Shortcoming? This isn't a shortcoming, Ms. Reyes, this is a self-inflicted, gaping chest wound!" He started pacing again, but this time it wasn't frantic. It was the caged energy of a predator that had just caught the scent of blood. "They have no right to that name. None! Every sign, every ad, every business card, every contract they've signed for the last two months is fraudulent!"

His excitement was a stark contrast to her own cold calm. For him, this was a thrilling legal puzzle. For her, it was vengeance.

"Years ago," Leo said, stopping to look her right in the eye, his voice suddenly quiet and intense, "a company just like Taylor's cut corners on safety. A chemical plant. My father was a foreman there. There was an accident. They buried my family in legal fees until we gave up. They had the money, the power. We had nothing."

He looked back at the certificate in his hand. "This… this is the kind of mistake they make. The powerful ones. They get so big they think the small rules don't apply to them."

He finally saw her, truly saw her. Not as a victim, but as the architect of a beautiful, righteous trap. "Ms. Reyes," he said, his voice ringing with conviction. "I will take your case. And I'll do it on contingency. Because this isn't just about a car, and it isn't just about a business name. This is a crusade. And we are going to burn their kingdom to the ground."

Tiana allowed herself a small, tight nod. The fire in Leo Vance’s eyes matched the ice in her own. The partnership was forged. The first shot was about to be fired.