Power of Attorney: A Novel (A Greenburg Family Book 1) (4 page)

The next morning, Sarah purchased a copy of Daisuke Terres’ book from the bookstore and flipped through it on her way to work. Although Terres was a respected novelist with a wide fan base, she had never read his work herself. Now was the perfect time to start. After all, who best to learn about the Terres family than Daisuke himself?

Although
it was a biography about Kanade and Aiden Terres, the book was labeled as fiction.
Once upon a Sunshine
was the title. There was also a sequel called,
Once upon a Moonlight
. The first line of the book was simple, “For my mom and dad, the ones who forged my life and kindled my heart.” She was still flipping through it when she entered the office, greeting Patrick with a “good morning.” He looked grumpy.

“You think this is a good time to start reading novels?” He eyed the book suspiciously. Granted, he wasn’t one for love stories
anyway. Sarah could see his copy of “A Civil Action” right on the corner of his desk. The bookmark was still in the same place since the last time she saw it.

“
Don’t judge,” I said. “I have a feeling it may help us learn something… I don’t know. Maybe I just need something for my free time and besides it’s a bestseller.” Daisuke Terres was a big deal in romance and war novels after all. His mother came to United States to study literature, and his father was a soldier. He had all the materials in his hands.

The clock stroke
nine o’clock sharp when there was a knock on the door. It was their client, Diana, the daughter of the late Daisuke Terres. She was already in her thirties but still looked bright and young like a woman in her twenties. Sarah had seen a picture of Daisuke, and she could see how Diana was similar to him right away. She had Daisuke’s sharp hazel eyes and his jet black hair. There was a formal aura radiating from her that made Sarah straighten a little bit from her seat.

“Good morning, sir and miss. You two must be my attorneys. I am
Diana Terres.” Diana bowed a little before extending her hands and greeted both Patrick and Sarah. They accepted her greeting formally though Sarah wasn’t quite sure if they should bow back or not.

As soon as they settled down
in their seats, Diana handed over the necessary documents they had requested. She had been thorough. They received everything from the original contract Daisuke had signed with the construction company, Golden Dome, as well as the old property transfer document. It detailed the sale of the home to the Dennis family, who had then abandoned it mid-way through the renovation.

“There are also formal letters I received from the company regarding the contract
,” Diana said. “Most of it states that they cannot refund the down payment per contract agreements. However, when I look back into the agreements, they said nothing about withholding the payment. The only case where they stated that the company can withhold the payment was if the buyer refused to pay for the balance. They are saying that because my father is dead, he cannot pay for the rest, and that’s why they are withholding the payment. They will not accept the payment with other parties.” Diana carefully stated the main problem out carefully. It seemed that their opponent would rely solely on working their way around the contract that already seemed very skeptical from the beginning.

“We have the important
documents, but do you have anything we can use to confirm the state the house was in before the restoration project began? Perhaps a picture or an inspection report?” Sarah looked back at their checklist for the evidence they had at hand. All they had right now was mainly papers and contracts. They needed evidence to confirm to the court that the Terres house was left half done by the construction company and that the owner before them was the party who demolished half of the house structure.

Diana’s face already displayed the concern both Patrick and Sarah feared. There were no available photos.

“Golden Dome’s agent and my father were the only two who went to the house to discuss the project. He was the only member of our family who was involved. Golden Dome was the one who took the pictures. The chance that we could get them in their original state is probably zero.”

It wasn’t the lack of pictures that worried Sarah now. It was the fact that
Golden Dome had the pictures. There was a good chance they would manipulate those images to support their own stands. For what purpose, she had no idea yet. Golden Dome’s biggest defense would be how they did not violate any of the agreements in the contract anyway, why would they need the pictures?

“Could it be that they wanted to prove that they already did some of the
work, and that’s why they withhold the payment?” Sarah asked Patrick after a long moment of silence. It was the only possible answer she could think of. Golden Dome sure wanted to win. Sarah just underestimated the obstacles they had to face in this case.

“If we
could prove that the down payment was worth more than what they restored,” Sarah voiced faltered as she went deep into her thoughts. Other than a contract, how could Daisuke be sure they got the construction the way he wanted? He must have a blueprint or a picture somewhere. At least he would need something for his book. Sarah’s gaze fell back to the book on her desk which was left untouched since the morning. Well, if Patrick wanted a surprise she was going to give him one.

“Miss
Terres, were there any research documents or photos your father created regarding his first two books which feature your grandparent's stories? The house was featured in both books.”

Sarah didn’t even need to finish everything when Diana suddenly took out her phone and started to call someone.
She had no idea who but as soon as Diana started to speak Japanese, she could only assume that it was her sibling, Shunsuke. Sarah could not make anything out of the conversation and from his confused face she doubted Patrick could either. Diana’s language changed back to English as she spoke back to both of them.

“Can you come to our current house? I might need help
.” Sarah nodded and looked back at Patrick with a smirk. As usual, he tried to look unamused but deep down Sarah knew that she just gain another point on her scoreboard. What a good way to start the day.

The house the
Terres family currently lived in was smaller than Sarah imagined for a successful novelist like Daisuke. It had two stories just like the old house but, with a modern touch.

Shunsuke
was waiting in front of the house when we arrived. Unlike his sister, his hair was dyed golden brown with blond highlight streaked through it. Just like Diana, he inherited Daisuke’s sharp hazel eyes. He was tall and had a handsome looking face, and Sarah thought he could have been a model. He was a star in his own right, an artist who released several albums with his band. Diana mentioned how he had just come back from a world tour and was taking a break from his work so that he could help his sister with the case. Shunsuke bowed deeply and greeted them just like his sister.

“Thank you for taking your time. Do you want any drinks or
other refreshments?” The first thing Sarah wondered when she met both of Daisuke’s children was how Daisuke raised such exceptional children. Both of them were polite and very considerate of others. Despite the success and fame they all achieved, they seemed to be very modest and down to earth. The living room was not even as fancy as Sarah’s own living space. Just a very plain looking sofa, a coffee table and an old wooden chair. The only expensive items Sarah could see in the room were the television and stereo set that looked too modern for the simple place. There were many photos on the wall and table; most of Daisuke and his family. Some were Daisuke with his wife and children while the others were him and his parents, Kanade and Aiden. Shunsuke came back with coffee and biscuits as Diana came back with some of her father’s work.

“Most are just documents about the
world war and the camp. I don’t think he even needed it because he lived there for more than twenty years before he had to move. Writing about that place from his memory would not be hard.” Sarah went through several photographs from Daisuke’s youth and his family. She saw Kanade and Aiden as children. Kanade was truly beautiful with her long luscious hair. Diana did resemble her, in a way.

“Of course, for Daisuke himself
, he may not need a picture or blueprints, but what about his audience? Or perhaps the book illustrator?” In the pile, Patrick held up a piece of paper that has a sketching of a house they were looking for. The artist name was signed at the bottom of the page with the note that said: Sketch from received photo.

“Right! I will try to contact him right away!” Diana took the picture from his hand and disappeared from the room with haste. This time, Patrick looked back at Sarah with
a smirk. Strike one for me, his face said. Of course, this was just the beginning of the battle, and that was just one blow. No way was she going to lose just yet.

“Oh,
actually I have an idea. I don’t know about this but can the fan base help? Since the book was released, there was bound to be some crazy fans that went to the house, right? To take a photo for memories or just for their collection. Can we ask for their help?”

Sarah was sure that she could hear Patrick’s teeth grinding
as she spoke, but Shunsuke smiled and pulled out his laptop from the table near him. Apparently, Daisuke had a website of his own too. Shunsuke wasted no time and wrote a new topic in the discussion panel of the forum, asking for the fans’ help.

“Even better, I could multiply the
crowdsourcing effect.” He then opened his Twitter and Facebook account and wrote to his own fans about helping to spread the word. With both Shunsuke’s and Daisuke’s fan base, their message would reach a hundred thousand in a day. Sometimes working on high profile cases had its perks.

“Welcome to the 21st century Patrick,” she whispered to him as she elbowed him at the same time. No way
would she let that grumpy ginger take the lead of the scoreboard.

“Oh
Shunsuke-kun, you didn’t tell me there were guests coming,” a raspy voice caught everyone’s attention. A soft tap of a walking stick made Shunsuke dash from his seat to the old woman who was walking towards them slowly. He helped her to an old wooden chair. Sarah could not make out her age but guessed her to be at least eighty years old. Although she suspected her identity, it wasn’t until she looked straight at Sarah that she knew who this old woman was without question. She bore the same dark brown eyes of Kanade Terres. Her luscious black hair was now streaked white from age. This woman was Kanade Terres, their grandmother.

“I didn’t want to wake Oba-
chan up,” Shunsuke said, draping a thin blanket over her shoulder carefully. Suddenly Sarah understood why Shunsuke had stayed home instead of going out with his sister to meet them in the first place. He was taking care of his 94-year-old grandmother. It was a wonder to Sarah how healthy she looked even at this age. Kanade reached her shaky hand and placed it over Shunsuke’s.

“You are a good boy
Shunsuke-ku.,” Even after living in the United States for a long time, Kanade still spoke with a hint of Japanese accent. It surprised Sarah a little bit that she hadn’t spoken to Shunsuke in Japanese, “You must be the people who are helping Diana. Thank you so much.”

“It’s our pleasure to help,” Patrick answered. Somehow Sarah expected
him to say something like ‘It’s my job’ or something equally snarky. If only he were this nice all the time.

“Dai-
kun worked so hard. He was happy when he told me that the house was going to be rebuilt, and we were going to move back.” The expression on Kanade’s face was unreadable. Sarah could only explain that expression with one word, longing.

Daisuke
Terres might be a famous author who could depict a great love story in other people’s minds, but in this house, he was a father and a son. Though he was no longer alive, he was about to give his mother the house he lost because of the economic crisis. This time through the work of his children.

Watching this family together, the love and gentleness they showed to each other made Sarah’s blood simmer with rage. Golden Dome, in their selfishness, was taking something important from this family. Not just a house.
They were taking away a gift from a son to his mother.

“What kind of person was Daisuke?” Sarah asked
. She wanted to know more about this person who was the center of the Terres family. Kanade’s tired eyes sparkled and Sarah could see her become lost in the memories.

“Daisuke-
kun was the joy of the house. Sometimes he took everything too serious and that worried me. He loved Johnny Cash and would sing for us whenever he got a guitar in his hand. He really was a good boy,” Kanade’s raspy voice plucked something in Sarah’s heart. Daisuke sounded like a kind and nice person. She wasn’t sure why someone as good and kind had to meet his demise so early, “He was a good son and even more so as a father. He was our sunshine.”

Sarah could feel her eyes
grow glassy from just listening to Kanade speak about her child. Still, she swallowed down the emotions that seemed to climb up in her throat. Sarah mentally listed the third reason she could not lose this case. The house belonged to the Terres family, and she would be damned if one selfish company took advantage of a family who had already lost too much. The house was an emotional link between Daisuke and his parents. Sarah wrapped her hands around Kanade’s wrinkled one. There wasn’t much strength left in those hands, but they were the hands that raised the strong man Daisuke had become.