Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Julian
“Morgan and I need to talk to you,” Laurel said as she opened my door. “Can you come down to Morgan’s office?”
“Sure.” I followed her. “What’s up?”
“I think it’s time you saw this,” Morgan said, typing on her keyboard.
I looked at the large monitors on the wall and saw footage of Georgina and another woman meeting at a park filled with children.
“Here’s your new identity, passport, and a one-way plane ticket to Thailand.” Georgina handed the woman an envelope. “The money has been deposited into your bank account, so you should be all set to live the life you deserve.”
“Thanks, Georgina. I appreciate this.”
“I should be thanking you,” she said. “You did something I couldn’t bring myself to do, and I will forever be grateful.”
“And what if the jury finds you guilty of murdering Derek?” she asked.
“They won’t. I have the best lawyer who believes my story. He will stop at nothing to get me off. This will all be over soon. Go and enjoy your new life.”
My heart raced out of my chest as I watched the video.
“That bitch!” I shouted so loudly that it caught the attention of my brothers walking past the office.
“What’s going on?” Roman asked.
“Watch this bullshit!” I shouted, turned, and stared out the window with my hands on my hips.
Morgan replayed the video for Roman and Parker.
“Oh my God. I can’t believe this,” Parker said.
“Something about that woman always bothered me,” Roman said. “You know what you have to do, right?” Roman walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Hold on a second,” Morgan said. “He can’t confront her yet.”
“Why not?” Parker asked.
“Because we have to play this very carefully,” Laurel spoke.
“Exactly,” Morgan said. “If you confront Georgina, she will know we were the ones spying on her.”
“You need to send the video to the ADA, let her come to us with it, and then we confront Georgina and try to get her to change her plea.”
“The ADA will know it came from us,” I said.
“No, she won’t,” Morgan spoke. “It’ll be sent anonymously with encrypted information that can’t be broken. Nobody but the five of us will know.”
“Who the hell is that woman?” I shouted as I pointed to the monitor.
“Obviously, the woman Georgina hired to kill her husband,” Roman said.
“No shit. But who is she?” I asked .
“I’m running a facial recognition now,” Morgan said. “Got a match. Mary Phillips. She spent five years in prison for the murder of her boyfriend and was released three months ago for good behavior and rehabilitation.”
“Real rehabilitated,” Parker sighed.
“I wonder how Georgina knows her,” Laurel said.
“You’re never going to believe it. Mary is Georgina’s cousin.”
“Send the fucking video to the ADA now,” I said, storming out of Morgan’s office. “I don’t want to be disturbed, Melinda.” I slammed my office door shut.
I walked over to the bar in the corner and poured a glass of scotch, tipping it to my lips as I paced around the office angrily. I couldn’t believe Georgina lied to my face. But the most shocking part was that she did murder her husband. If I couldn’t convince her to change her plea, I’d have to file a motion with the court to withdraw as her attorney.
“Melinda, get in here and shut the door,” I shouted.
“I don’t know what has you all worked up, but you don’t have to shout, boss.”
“I need you to prepare a motion in case we need to file it.”
“What motion?” she asked.
“A motion to withdraw as Georgina’s attorney.”
“Are you kidding me? Julian, what is going?—”
“I’m not discussing it right now. Just do as I ask.”
“Sure, okay.” She left my office.
“Is it safe to come in?” Laurel stuck her head through the door.
“How long have you known?” I asked.
She stepped inside my office and shut the door.
“Morgan only showed me the video this morning. ”
“And why would Morgan even think to follow Georgina?” I finished my scotch and set the glass on my desk.
“Because I told her that I was positive Georgina was lying,” Laurel said. “I told you the same thing, but you didn’t want to hear it. You didn’t want to believe Georgina could do such a thing. But I couldn’t in good conscience go along with things when I knew something wasn’t right. Can you imagine if, after the trial, something came out that proved Georgina did kill Derek? You’d be getting looked into. I was protecting you, Julian.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t need your protection.” I grabbed my suit coat from the back of my chair and stormed out of the office.
Laurel
I sighed, placing my hand on my head. My phone rang. Pulling it from my pocket, it was from an unknown number. I was in no mood. I sent it to voicemail and waited, but they didn’t leave a message or call back. I left Julian’s office, grabbed my purse, and left the building for lunch.
I glanced through store windows as I walked down the street. I had no choice but to stay close to the office because I didn’t have a car. Speaking of. I hadn’t heard from the repair shop yet, so I decided to give them a call.
“Hi, this is Laurel Evans. I’m calling about my vehicle.”
“Hello, Ms. Evans. Your car will be ready for pick up around five o’clock. Just a reminder that we’re only open until six. ”
“Thank you. I’ll be there at five.”
After I ended the call, and before I could toss it back into my purse, it rang—an unknown number. I answered it but didn’t say a word.
“Laurel,” I heard a muffled and distorted voice. “You look beautiful like you do every day.”
“Who is this?” I shouted.
Click.
My heart raced out of my chest as my eyes scanned my surroundings—front, back, side to side. His voice was filled with both familiarity and an eerie sense of unfamiliarity. It could be anyone walking or standing on the street.
I raced back to the office and found Morgan.
“Here. Take it.” I handed her my phone. “I need you to try and find out who’s calling me. He spoke today, Morgan.”
“What did he say?”
“You look beautiful like you do every day,” I said.
“Did you recognize his voice?”
“It sounded like he was using a voice changer, but something seemed familiar.”
“Don’t worry. We’re going to get this son-of-a-bitch.”
“Thanks, Morgan. By the way. Don’t mention this to Julian. He is really mad at me about Georgina.”
“He’ll get over it. Don’t worry about him.”
“Excuse me, Laurel?” Melinda said. “There’s a woman here to see you. She’s in your office.”
“Thanks, Melinda.”
I walked down to my office and froze when I saw Mrs. Keeley sitting across from my desk.
“Mrs. Keeley?” I cocked my head.
“Ms. Evans. I hope you don’t mind me dropping by.”
“How did you know where I worked? ”
“It’s not hard finding a hotshot lawyer like yourself. I want to apologize on behalf of my son. I had a long talk with him yesterday, and he opened up about many things. He is the way he is because of my husband and me. My husband is an alcoholic and can sometimes get out of control. Justin sees things no child should ever see from their parents. After thinking long and hard, I’ve decided to leave my husband and file for sole custody of Justin.”
It was four-thirty when my Uber pulled up. As I was on the way to pick up my car, my phone rang, and Julian was calling.
“Hello, Mr. Hamilton.”
“Where are you?” he asked.
“On my way to pick up my car.”
“How are you getting there?”
“Uber,” I said.
“Why the hell wouldn’t you have asked me to take you?” He snapped at me.
“Because clearly, you’re still mad at me, and I wasn’t rocking the boat any further.”
“I’m coming over to your house later and bringing Chinese for dinner. What do the girls like?”
“Uh, they like almond boneless chicken and shrimp fried rice. Why are you coming over?”
“Because we need to discuss Georgina. I’ll see you later.” He ended the call.
I wasn’t in the mood for him tonight after the shitshow of the day.
“Hello, my darlings.” I smiled as I walked through the front door, and they ran to me. “How was school? ”
“You’re never going to—” Sara said.
“Oh my God, Mom—” Stella chimed in.
“I can’t wait to tell—” Sophie talked over her sisters.
“STOP!” I put my hands up. “One at a time, please. Sara, you first, sweetheart.”
“Justin Keeley apologized to me today and to all the other kids he’s been bullying.”
“He did? Wow. I’m happy he finally came to his senses.” I patted her head as I headed for the stairs, and the girls followed.
“Stella, your turn.” I walked into my bedroom.
“My teacher was arrested today,” Stella said.
“What?” I whipped my head around and looked at her. “Why?”
“I don’t know. It was something about her having an affair with a student from the high school. I stopped the police before they escorted her out of the classroom and gave her your number. I told her you’d help her. She’ll be calling you. I’m shocked she hasn’t already.”
“Stella, you can’t give people my number and tell them I’d help them. We talked about this before.”
“She’s so nice, Mom. I don’t want her to go to jail.”
“Ugh, Stella.” I took a pair of sweatpants from my drawer and put them on. “Sophie, what can’t you wait to tell me?” I pulled a tank top out of my closet.
“The poem I wrote won first place out of everyone in the school. My teacher is going to submit it to the state finals!”
“Oh, sweetheart. I’m so happy for you!” I smiled, hugging her. “Where’s Grandma?” My brows furrowed.
“She’s in the backyard with Grandpa. They’re enjoying some iced tea,” Stella said.
“What’s for dinner?” Sophie asked.
“Julian is bringing Chinese for dinner tonight. ”
“Yay! Julian’s coming over!” Sara exclaimed.
“We have to talk about a case, so after dinner, I need you three to go to your rooms and do your homework. Got it?”
“Got it,” they all said simultaneously.