The moment the handcuffs clicked shut, the courtroom wasn’t just about alimony and child support anymore. This was about criminal charges, stolen property, and whether or not Tanya was going to prison.
Mike sat back in his chair, exhaling slowly as he adjusted his tie.
‘Alright. Time to clean house.’
Jamal looked over at him. “So, uh… what happens now?”
Mike smirked. “Now? Now, we take everything she wanted and make sure she never gets her hands on a dime.”
That same afternoon, as Tanya sat in holding, Mike filed a motion to suspend all alimony hearings indefinitely. His argument was simple: since she was under criminal investigation, her financial situation was about to change dramatically. If she was convicted, she wouldn’t need alimony—she’d have free room and board, courtesy of the prison system.
By the next morning, Tanya had been formally charged, and her bail hearing was scheduled. Meanwhile, Mike pushed forward with the child support issue. He didn’t try to reduce the payments—courts don’t like that—but he rerouted them.
“If we do this right,” Mike explained to Jamal over lunch the next day, “your kids will still get everything they need. School, food, clothes, all of it. But Tanya? She doesn’t see a cent.”
Jamal frowned. “Is that even legal?”
“Perfectly,” Mike said, sliding a folder across the table. “I filed the request this morning. If the judge agrees, all child support payments will go into a court-supervised trust fund for the kids. You’re still fulfilling your legal obligation, but Tanya won’t be able to blow the money on herself.”
Jamal leaned back, shaking his head. “Damn. That’s kinda genius.”
Mike grinned. “I know.”
Three days later, Tanya was released on bail, but the damage was done. Not only was she facing felony charges, but Mike had already filed for emergency custody. The judge, now aware that Tanya’s garage had been used to store stolen liquor from multiple robberies, was not inclined to be generous.
A week after her arrest, Tanya walked into court expecting a battle over alimony and child support—only to realize the war had already been lost.
Her lawyer barely had time to sit down before Mike hit them with the full weight of his strategy.
“We’re proposing a new arrangement,” Mike said smoothly. “Jamal gets full custody. All child support payments go into a trust fund. And Tanya—well, Tanya gets exactly what she deserves.”
Her lawyer’s expression darkened. “Which is?”
Mike smiled. “Absolutely nothing.”
Jamal tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t help it. He grinned.
Tanya? She looked like she wanted to murder someone.
And just like that, one week after Tanya’s arrest, Jamal walked out of court with no alimony, no more direct child support payments, and full custody of his kids.
Mike stretched, feeling pretty damn satisfied with himself.
“Not bad for my first case,” he said.
Mike was happy. Jamal was happier. But the happiest? Maluck. Because as soon as Mike finished his first case a notification popped up.
[System Task: The Legal Grey Zone] JUSTICE PATH COMPLETE
Issued by: Greed & Justice
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[System Task: The Legal Grey Zone]
Issued by: Greed & Justice
Mike Spectre knows the law inside and out, but instead of practicing it, he’s been bending it. Greed sees a man who can twist the system for maximum profit, while Justice sees a potential force for good—if he’s willing to stand for something more than money.
Objective:
? Recruit Mike into Lucky Star. COMPLETE
? Test his skills—does he use the law to protect and strengthen Lucky Star, or exploit loopholes for personal and organizational gain? COMPLETE
? Determine if he will follow the path of Justice or the path of Greed.
Rewards:
? THIS PATH HAS BEEN COMPLETED
? If he becomes a legitimate legal powerhouse: +0.5 Wisdom, +0.2 Intelligence, and full legal protection for Lucky Star.
? THIS PATH HAS BEEN VOIDED
? If he exploits legal loopholes: +0.3 Intelligence, +$200,000 in legally-questionable gains, and a “high-risk, high-reward” ally.
? If he fails: A legal disaster waiting to happen.
[System Commentary:] Justice thinks the law should be upheld. Greed thinks the law is just an obstacle. Either way, you’re about to find out how useful a rogue lawyer can be.
Maluck exhaled, smiling like a banshee.
‘Well, well, well. Looks like I’ve got a powerhouse lawyer on my side.’
***
POV : Jamal’s Apartment
Jamal sat on the couch with his arms around his two kids, grinning like a man who had just won the lottery. Which, in a way, he had. Jamal Jr. and Akeesha were finally with him, no longer stuck under Tanya’s roof, where “dinner” had been a depressing exercise in disappointment.
“Man,” Jamal said, shaking his head, “I still can’t believe she was feeding y’all Wish sandwiches.”
Akeesha, curled up beside him, let out a dramatic sigh. “Two pieces of bread, Daddy. That’s it. No meat. No cheese. Just bread.”
Jamal Jr. nodded solemnly. “We wished there was something in it. That’s why they’re called Wish sandwiches.”
Jamal rubbed his temples, muttering, “Lord have mercy.”
It was almost comical, but the thought of his kids being stuck with a mother who wouldn’t even spring for peanut butter made his blood boil. Not that he was about to dwell on it now. They were here, safe, and he was about to make damn sure they never had to wish for food again.
“Well,” he said, standing up with a clap of his hands, “y’all ain’t never eating like that again. Tonight, we feast.”
Akeesha perked up. “Feast, feast, feast!” she chanted, bouncing on the couch.
Jamal Jr. grinned. “Can we get pizza? With everything?”
Jamal put a hand over his heart like he had just been personally insulted. “Boy, we ain’t doing no regular-ass pizza. We’re celebrating. We’re getting steak. Lobster. Mac and cheese so good it’ll make you cry.”
Akeesha gasped. “Mac and cheese with the good cheese? Not the sad powder kind?”
Jamal grinned. “The best cheese. The expensive cheese. Cheese so good it got its own passport.”
The kids cheered, and for the first time in a long while, Jamal felt like the world was actually going his way.
***
POV : Emerald Hotel
Maluck stared at his stat sheet. And the improvements in his wisdom and intelligence.
Wisdom (Wis): 2.45
Intelligence (Int): 1.68
Maluck scanned the numbers, his grin stretching wider with each passing second. Then, with a slow, satisfied exhale, he leaned back and murmured, “Oh… this is big. This is huge.”
He tapped the screen, running the numbers in his head.
“At Wisdom 2.45, I’m now 2.5 times wiser than the average human. Statistically, that puts me in, what? The top 1% of wisdom havers? I’m basically walking around with the foresight of an ancient monk combined with the street smarts of a guy who’s seen every scam known to man.”
He glanced at his Intelligence stat and smirked.
“And Intelligence 1.68? That means I’m nearly 70% smarter than the average person. Do you know how many people that puts me ahead of? There are eight billion people in the world. That means I’m functionally smarter than about 5.4 billion of them.”
The funny thing is, without his new upgraded intelligence, he wouldn't have been able to figure out these stats.
Maluck paused, eyes widening.
‘Wait a second…’
“…That also means there are still 2.6 billion people smarter than me.”
He frowned, tapping his chin. “That’s… a lot of people.”
For a brief, glorious moment, he’d thought he was some kind of genius mastermind—like he could outthink governments, predict the stock market, or finally understand why people willingly eat black licorice. But no. Turns out, he was just really smart, not world-dominating smart.
He exhaled, rubbing his temples. “So I can do complex math in my head now, but there are still over two billion people who could absolutely school me in an argument? That’s unacceptable.”
Then, after a beat, he shrugged. “Eh, still better than before.”
“I might not be Brainius Maximus, but I’m at least a highly skilled researcher versus some generic shmoe.”
He leaned back, deep in thought—which he could now do 1.68 times better than before.
“This explains so much. The way I instantly see patterns? The way I anticipate people’s dumb decisions before they even make them? The way I can glance at a menu and just know which dish won’t give me food poisoning? That’s the power of high stats, baby.”
He exhaled, nodding to himself.
“Alright, next goal—Wisdom 5.0. That’s gotta be where I start unlocking prophetic visions and omnipotence. Or, at the very least, the ability to always pick the fastest grocery store checkout line.”
***
