Liz was a little surprised. After all, her meeting with the clientst week had gone very smoothly.


    “Ms. Ziegler, is there something you’re concerned about?” she asked.


    Liz knew Attorney Chapman from MS Law. He specialized in criminal cases and wasn’t particrly experienced in handling divorces.


    “I spoke with him and felt like he was a better fit. I’m sorry, Ms. Smith. I’ve taken up enough of your time. I have to go now.”


    Before Liz could say anything else, the call ended.


    She


    put down her phone. Since the client had already made up her mind, there was no point in calling back.


    Not long after Liz got home, another client–someone she had been negotiating with called to say they had also decided to hire someone else.


    By the end of the weekend, most of the clients she had lined up had suddenly pulled out. She had never experienced anything like it before.


    One or twost–minute changes could be chalked up to bad luck, but when that many cases fell through all at once, something was clearly off.


    On Monday morning, as soon as Liz arrived at the firm, she went straight to Warren’s office to report what had happened.


    After hearing her out, his expression grew serious. “I’ll look into it. I’ll let you know what I find.”


    It wasn’t umon forw firms topete, but for so many of Liz’s cases to suddenly copse, it seemed likely that someone was targeting her on purpose.


    “Thank you, Mr. Quinn,” she said.


    Back at her desk, Liz reviewed the materials from the cases she had previously taken on, Most had already been organized and checked. But with almost all the cases from thest two weeks falling through, her schedule had suddenly opened up.


    She had originally arranged to meet with several more potential clients this week, but over the weekend, they had all messaged her to say they had already found other attorneys.


    That meant she would need to start sourcing new cases all over again. If she didn’t, she would have nothing to do next week either.


    Just then, Hunter came over to her desk. “Liz, what should I be working on today? Should I go with you to meet any clients?”


    Liz looked up at him. “No need. Take the day to review case files. The ones we discussedst week all fell through.”


    “What?” Hunter frowned. “You’re kidding, right?”


    He had been there when she met with those clients. They had clearly been ready to sign with her. What had changed?


    “I’m serious.”


    “Wow… okay.” Hunter looked visibly discouraged. After all the work they had put inst week, it felt like it had all gone to waste.


    Liz noticed his mood and was about to say something reassuring when Jenna walked over.


    “Ms. Smith, Mr. Quinn wants to see you in his office.”


    “Got it,” Liz replied.


    She stood up and gave Hunter a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Don’t be discouraged. This kind of thing happens all the time. You’ll get used to it.”


    Then she turned and walked toward Warren’s office.


    As soon as she stepped in, he said, “Ms. Smith, it’s confirmed. Someone is targeting you.”


    Liz’s brows knit together. “I don’t think I’ve offended anyone recently.”


    “It’s your ex–boyfriend. Zac Lincoln. The CEO of Voyager Tech. Apparently, ever since word got out that you were handling certain cases, hispany has been offering free legal services to your clients. In some cases, they’re even covering the full cost of hiring another attorney. The only condition is that they don’t retain you.”


    The room fell silent.


    Liz looked down, surprised by the news but not entirely shocked.


    It was exactly the kind of thing he would do.