Ellie went to the door and opened it to find Freya, Ethan, and Tony standing there. They all came inside and sat down in front of Nick, who nodded to acknowledge their presence.
"Guys, I didn't know where this came from," Nick said, running a hand through his hair. "This legal issue came out of nowhere. How can a company be silent for fifteen years and still be servicing us with good customer support during that time?"
"Do you know who the CEO was during that period?" Ethan asked. "Is it one of our dads?"
"I checked," Nick replied. "It's not. But during that early period, the company wasn't this big, so the CEO position changed every two years. First, we need to find the exact date of this initial agreement."
"It was actually twenty years back," Ellie interjected.
Nick looked up, surprised. "You got the agreement?"
"Yes," Ellie confirmed. "Since I was granted all of David's access, I found this in the archived 'Agreement' sections. I also cross-checked it with the copy the legal team sent us, and they match."
"What exactly does it say?" Nick pressed. "Explain it to us once you've finished reading the full text."
Tony asked, "So when is the hearing?"
"Next week," Nick said. "We absolutely need to get through this, or the impact will be huge. I will be a failure."
"Nick, it's not your fault," Freya assured him gently. "Don't worry, we will find a solution."
Ethan asked, "Did anyone inform our parents regarding this?"
Nick, Ellie, and Freya all shook their heads.
"If I reach out to them now, they might think that I cannot handle this situation," Nick stated firmly.
"Don't worry," Tony said. "We are here for you. We will definitely win this case next week."
Ellie finally finished scanning the lengthy document. "Okay, this is what the agreement says," she began. "All four software products we are using come from the same company called 'Five Star Softwares,' and they are all covered under a single, comprehensive agreement. It mentions that we need to pay them every year for each software, and it even details the original amount for each. Crucially, it says that for the VH Group specifically, the amount will increase by ten percent every year."
Nick listened carefully. "Do we have any renewal date mentioned in the document?"
Ellie looked at the final clauses again. "No. No specific renewal date." She then checked the folder. "And no renewal document is available in the agreements section either."
Just then, Nick received a call from the legal team. He picked up and put it on speaker so everyone could hear.
"Sir," the legal person said urgently, "they have preponed the case to day after tomorrow. They are putting immense pressure on us to finish the case as fast as possible. We will only be able to win the case if we can get any documents against them by tomorrow, but right now, the entire evidence base is against us. We might lose, and maybe we can only try to reduce the amount. Shall we proceed, sir?"
Nick completely lost hope. He was about to say something, defeated, when Ellie quickly grabbed his arm and gestured for him to wait.
"Ask them to file a motion to delay it until tomorrow," Ellie slowly told Nick.
Nick repeated her instruction into the phone. "File it tomorrow morning." He then disconnected the call.
He turned to Ellie, bewildered. "What is the purpose in delaying it by one day? We don't have time!"
"We do have time," Ellie said, a slight triumphant fire in her eyes. "And I have found something."
