For Cause

A single video threatens to destroy everything Kansas City attorney Josephina Jillian Jones—3J to her friends—believes about truth and justice.

When 3J takes on Paxton Energys Chapter 11 case, she expects to win a fight with the banks—until they play a video showing CEO Remmy Paxton confessing to years of cooking the books. Within seconds, her case implodes. Her client swears its fake—but these days, who believes that? The banks demand control of the company. The judge gives her twenty days to prove the truth.

Desperate for an expert, 3J tracks down a digital forensics genius—only to learn he now works for Robbie McFadden, Kansas Citys smooth-talking Irish mob boss with a legitimate smile and an illegitimate empire that now includes manipulating reality itself.

As 3J, her mentor, Bill Pascale, and investigator, Ronnie Steele, chase answers from downtown courtrooms to Oklahoma oil fields, they uncover a conspiracy built on deception, corruption, and deepfake technology powerful enough to ruin reputations—or end lives.

It seems like truth never stood a chance.

For Cause is Mark Shaikens most gripping 3J Legal Thriller yet—a smart, fast-paced novel where corporate greed, organized crime, and technology collide, and one woman must decide how far over the line shell go to save her client—and herself.