In the office of the Chief Judge, Jade sat across from the man who seemed to be in his mid-sixties.
"Are you related to Lawrence Hank?" he asked, watching her, and Jade smiled.
"Yes, I am. But that is totally unrelated to the reason I took up this case," Jade said confidently.
"Why then did you take it up knowing who you are going against?" the chief judge asked, and Jade shrugged.
"It's a matter of justice. I believe my client is innocent. Hence I'm defending him," Jade said, and he glared at her.
"If he were innocent, my son wouldn't be lying dead right now...."
"We both know your son is not dead," Jade cut in, surprising him.
"I beg your pardon?" the chief judge asked.
"Your son is not dead as the public thinks, is he? I know he is in critical condition, and I believe the only reason you haven't made that information public yet is that you want to be able to charge my client for murder and not attempted murder in the case that your son eventually dies. Am I wrong?" Jade asked, and his eyes hardened.
"It doesn't change the fact that he hurt my boy. I won't let him get away with it. And I strongly advise you not to get in my way," The chief judge warned.
"What makes you so confident that my client is guilty? I mean, this could be a setup, you know?" Jade asked reasonably.
"Do you have any idea the number of crimes we have covered up for that nitwit? Judging by his records, I won't put this past him. Besides, they had a fight the day before this. Did you know that?" the chief judge asked, and Jade sat forward in her seat.
"And do you know the reason for the fight? Are you aware that your son has been having an affair with his mother-in-law?" Jade asked, and the chief judge jerked back as though she had slapped him.
"How Dare You? How dare you come in here and make such accusations against my son?" he asked angrily, struggling not to raise his voice.
"It's not an accusation. Are you aware that your daughter-in-law attempted to take her life a couple of days ago? Do you know why? It was because she caught them. You can ask your daughter-in-law for the video evidence if you can stomach seeing your son doing it with his mother-in-law," Jade said, not caring that she was not being totally honest with the man.
He wasn't her client after all, and if he wanted to know the whole truth, then it was best he looked into it more. One thing she knew for sure was that regardless of what he would find, they would keep the whole thing hush-hush within the family because they cared more about their public image than they cared about anything else.
The chief judge was silent for some time, and then he looked at Jade, "Why are you so sure that Jackson is innocent? Do you have evidence?"
"What case was your son working on? Which witness did he have to meet at such a remote location? Does he usually do that? What if the so-called witness had hurt him before my client arrived at the scene?" Jade asked matter-of-factly.
The Chief Judge shook his head, "I don't think that is the case."
"Can I ask you a question?" Jade asked politely, and he gave her a nod.
"Are you more interested in punishing my client than you are in apprehending the real culprit who did that to your son?"
"I'm not asking you to release him or anything. Don't you think your integrity would be questioned when your son regains consciousness and admits my client was not behind it?" Jade asked before the man could answer.
"And what if he doesn't wake up? What if he wakes up in a vegetative state?" he asked, and Jade shook her head.
"All I'm asking is that you do not frustrate my effort by trying to use your influence to turn an innocent man into a criminal. I will apprehend the criminal myself. Let me do my job, and I won't have to tell anyone that your son is still alive," Jade threatened subtly.
"How did you know my son is alive?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
Jade shrugged, "The same way I know my client is innocent. You will just have to trust me on that," Jade said as she rose.
"As much as I have enjoyed talking to you, I need to run along now," Jade said with a polite bow, and the Chief Judge rose.
"I looked into you before you arrived. You have quite an impressive record, and I can see you are a very intelligent lady," He said, and Jade smiled.
"I'm flattered."
"Can you not bring up the issue of Adam's infidelity in court?" he asked uncomfortably.
"If the prosecutor brings up the fight between them as my client's motive, I will have to bring it up," Jade said, meeting his gaze squarely.
He sighed, "I will ask him to leave that out."
Jade shrugged, "If that's what you want. But you must know that leaving that out means there is nothing to hold against my client. Being at the crime scene at the time the police arrived doesn't make him guilty," Jade pointed out.
"If you are able to apprehend the criminal who did that to my son, I think we will get along pretty well," he said, and Jade grinned this time.
"I have no doubt that we will get along, sir," she said, and they turned to the door when they heard a brief knock before it opened.
The secretary walked in, "Mr. Bateman is here to see you," he said apologetically, referring to Jackson's father.
"Let him in," The chief Judge said and looked at Jade, "I suppose you're familiar with your client's father?" he asked, and Jade shook her head as the door opened and the man walked in.
"I'm not. But I don't mind saying hello to him," she said, curious to see the face of the man who was having an affair with his son's mother-in-law.
Jade wondered how he would react when he found out that his lover was the one messing with his son's life.
"Thank you for agreeing to see me...."
"You have this young lady to thank. She is your son's lawyer," The chief judge said, and Mr. Bateman's gaze shifted to Jade as the Chief Judge made the introductions.
"Jack informed me of your visit," Mr. Bateman said, looking at Jade while wondering what she was doing with the Chief Judge and if he had sent her to jeopardize his son's chances.
"Yes. I will be representing him. If you don't mind, I will excuse you both to talk while I go about my business. I hope you can make out time for us to discuss the case," Jade said to Mr. Bateman, and he gave her a nod.
"If you're not in a hurry, you can wait. This meeting won't be long," he said, and Jade nodded.
"I will wait for you by the reception," she said and gave the chief judge a polite nod before walking out.
She waited about fifteen minutes before the senior Bateman stepped out of the office, "Can I buy you a drink?" he asked, and Jade shook her head.
"I'm afraid I don't have the time. Let's talk in your car," she suggested instead, and they both walked out together while Jade tried to organize her thoughts.
Once they got into his car, the driver excused them, and they faced each other, "Why were you in his office? Did he send you to jeopardize the case?" Mr. Batman asked, and Jade stared at him with a blank expression.
"Is your son aware that you are having an affair with his mother-in-law?" Jade asked instead, and he blinked in surprise.
"What? What does that have to do with this case?" he asked, shifting in his seat uncomfortably.
"We will get there. Tell me something, Mr. Bateman. If you had to choose between saving yourself and saving your son, who would it be?" she asked, and he frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I can help your son. I have what it takes to make all of this go away. But I need you to do something first," Jade said, and his frown deepened.
"What is that?"
"I want evidence that you and your lover, Rebekah Miller, murdered her late husband, Richard Miller...."
"I didn't do any such thing," he cut in, his eyes wide with fear.
"Yes, you did. You both duped him and robbed him of all he had. If you can give me evidence of his murder, then your son will be free. It's going to have to be you or your son. I will await your call," Jade said, slipping her complementary card into the space between them.
"And don't think of doing anything silly. A lot more people are with me on this than you can imagine. And if I were you, I wouldn't talk to Rebekah about our conversation. She isn't your friend. I will prove it to you in time," Jade promised as she got out of the car and walked away, feeling like the protagonist in an action movie.
Once she got into her car, she hummed a happy tune as she checked her reflection in the mirror, thinking about her date with Harry.
She still had to stop at the crime scene for formality's sake and take a look around, even if she was aware that wasn't exactly the place where the crime had truly taken place.
She picked up her phone and dialed Candace's line, "Hey! You busy?" she asked immediately after it connected.
"Not exactly. Just watching a television show," Candace said with a yawn.
"Good. Mind coming with me to inspect a fake crime scene? I mean, you're going to be a lawyer, right? I don't mind accepting you as an intern," Jade said, and Candace grinned.
"That's not a bad idea. Where should I meet you?" Candace asked as she rose and then looked down at her casual mom clothes.
"I will pick you up, don't worry...."
"I don't exactly have the wardrobe of an intern," she said with a slight frown.
"Don't worry, anyone who sees us will just assume you have bad taste in clothes," Jade said, and Candace chuckled.
"Gee, thanks! I feel much better," she said dryly, and Jade grinned.
"We can get you something nice to wear if it bothers you so much. And maybe after checking out the crime scene, we can go somewhere nice, and I will tell you about how much I love your twin brother and how I'm looking forward to our first date," Jade said, and Candace giggled.
"I don't want to hear any of that," Candace said and Jade rolled her eyes.
"I don't think you have much of a choice."
"By the way, Harry told me about Aurora," Candace remembered.
"Oh, yeah. I will give you more details when we see," Jade promised.
"Alright. I will be waiting for you," Candace said before hanging up the call, and then she went out to the balcony to inform her father and Jamal that she was going out.
After telling them she was going out, she turned to leave and then paused when she remembered she was yet to relay Lucy's message to Jamal.
"By the way, Jam. Lucy says she hopes you both can go on a date before we leave," Candace said and watched in amusement as Jamal's eyes lit up.
"Really? She said that?" he asked, and Candace nodded while Aaron chuckled.
"What about Tom? Did they break up? Going out on a date means she is going to be my girlfriend, right?" Jamal asked excitedly, and Candace and Aaron laughed out loud.
"Why don't you ask Lucy those questions on your date? I need to get ready before Jade gets here," Candace said as she walked away, and then she laughed when she heard Jamal tell Aaron that he needed to go shopping for his date.
Living with Andy must have really taught him a lot more about dates than she expected, Candace mused, and then the smile vanished from her face as she thought of Andy.
How could she be so happy and go about her life like everything was fine when she had no idea where Andy was or if she was alive? Candace mused sadly.
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