The lawyer’s office in downtown Chicago smelled of polished mahogany, aged leather, and the faint metallic tang of fresh ink on legal documents. Sunlight filtered through half-closed blinds, striping the long conference table where Lila Harper sat rigid in her simple black dress. The fabric clung to her curves in the cool blast of central air conditioning, a stark contrast to the humid late-summer heat pressing against the windows outside.
At twenty-two, fresh out of Northwestern with a degree in finance, she had just become the sole heir to her parents’ sprawling colonial home in the exclusive North Shore suburb of Winnetka, their substantial investment portfolio, and a trust fund that would keep her comfortable for decades. Her mother’s meticulous, controlling hand had ensured every a
