“Eh? Ah… um… sorry, Mom,” Jayden said, embarrassed, as he turned to greet her.“My love, don’t scold him,” Eric said, approaching to hug his wife. “He was a bundle of nerves because he was worried about Deborah and James. At work, he spilled his coffee twice because he was distracted.”“Dad…” Jayden complained, blushing as Deborah laughed.“Well, in that case, I forgive him,” Samantha said, letting herself be pampered by her husband.“Did you do that?” Deborah asked Jayden.“Um… well—” he began awkwardly but was cut off by a kiss. “Well, maybe I did,” he admitted, making everyone laugh. “So, tell me, how did it go? What happened with that guy?”“Don’t worry, everything is going according to plan,” Deborah said.“Though, son, you owe me a huge favor for this,” Samantha said. “I was really holding myself back from leaving my hiding place and hitting that supposed lawyer because he kept insulting Deborah.”“Eh? Was he that rude?” Jayden asked Deborah, looking into her eyes.“Yes,
The next day, Deborah arrived with Caroline at the designated place to sign the pardon and free her ‘poor’ parents.“Be careful, Debbie, there are steps here,” Caroline said, holding Deborah’s hand as they entered the place.[Thanks for coming with me, Carrie.]“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this. You know I love drama,” she whispered, making Deborah laugh.When they reached the door of the office Cameron had indicated, they saw a woman sitting at a desk next to it.“Good morning, we have an appointment,” said Caroline.“Good morning, under whose name is the appointment?”Caroline looked at Deborah, who shook her head. “Well, I’m not sure under what name it was registered, but we’re looking for lawyer Cameron Palmer, he’s the one who scheduled this meeting.”“Oh… the pardon practice,” the secretary said, confusing the girls a bit. “Sure, while I notify him of your arrival, you can take a seat.”“Thank you,” Caroline said, helping Deborah sit in the nearest chair and noticin
“Well, are you done reading?” Cameron asked, exasperated.[Yes, but I don’t understand… the first page is the pardon, but what are the other pages for?]“That’s why I told you to stop reading things you don’t understand and sign already.”[Not so fast; don’t you remember what I told you?]“What are you talking about?”[I’m not signing anything until you give me what you promised.]“First, sign…”[Then, no.]“Hey, you,” Caroline spoke, drawing everyone’s attention. “Kid, shouldn’t you say something about this? This lawyer is doing something illegal right now.”“Uh…” Judge Hunter looked a bit nervous.“As far as I know, a pardon shouldn’t be conditional upon receiving something in return, because that’s what a pardon is for,” Caroline stressed, crossing her arms.“Oh… well, that…”“Shut up, woman, don’t talk about things you don’t know,” Cameron said, annoyed. “And look, to stop you from crying, here it is,” he declared, looking at Deborah while pulling out a gold keychain wi
"Jeremy, I'm deeply disappointed in you," his father declared sternly. "Using your brother's office to engage in something illegal? We'll discuss your punishment at home. And you," he said, turning to Cameron, "do you realize you could lose your professional license for this? Extorting this woman and deceiving my son into stealing his brother’s seal?""Tch... what’s it to you, old man? You should just go back to the nursing home you escaped from.""Show some respect, lawyer. While my father may be retired, I can definitely ensure you’re banned from practicing law. Mary, call security.""Right away, boss," the secretary replied, reaching for her phone."Wait, I-I think this is just a misunderstanding," Cameron stammered, beginning to panic as the situation spiraled out of control."Now give me back that keychain you stole," Deborah demanded, extending her right hand."This wasn’t part of the deal.""The deal was illegal to begin with," Christian said, stepping into the room and s
"That idiot’s taking too long," Frederick grumbled as he paced back and forth in his cell. "He said everything would be ready before lunchtime.""He’s probably got diarrhea again, so that’s why he’s not here," Vanessa sighed.The police had placed them in adjoining cells, which was a small comfort, though it was obvious they were kept together so they could be more easily watched. Still, it was better than being thrown in with the general prison population."Tch… how long does it take to get a signature?" With each passing minute, Frederick felt time dragging on. He couldn’t understand why this was taking so long—he had always secured those kinds of signatures in seconds from his previous victims."Relax, love," Vanessa said optimistically. "He’ll be here soon with the good news. He’s probably just finalizing the paperwork to get us out of here.""You’re right, my love," Frederick sighed, finally stopping his pacing. "And once we’re out, we’ll figure out how to deal with those two
I don’t really care, but I suppose you two will need to find yourselves a new lawyer to deal with this mess,” the officer remarked nonchalantly. “Anyway, I’ve delivered the news, so you can go back to imagining your freedom,” he added, turning on his heel to leave them alone once again.Frederick and Vanessa were seething with anger. That cop had only come to humiliate them, mocking them with such grim news.“That bastard couldn’t even do that right?!” Frederick shouted, slamming his fists against the bars. “How hard could it have been to get the mute girl to sign? Damn it... I never should’ve trusted a fool like him.”“I told you we shouldn’t have trusted that idiot!”“Alright, alright, woman... I admit it was a mistake. But how did they find out?”“Forget that… We’ve got a bigger problem now.”“What?”“You told him about our plans yesterday. What if he spills everything to Detective Morgan about what we wanted to do to Deborah?”“Shut up. He knows better than to talk. It woul
One day before the trial, Christian was organizing his papers while explaining the plan to Deborah. They had heard that Frederick and Vanessa had found a new lawyer, so they wanted to be prepared for anything as they were unsure of what to expect from this new opponent.They were gathered at Deborah’s house, trying to make the most of their time to go over their strategy, even though it meant working on a Sunday.Though “working” was a loose term; their partners were busy in the kitchen, completing the meal. Jayden had mentioned he wanted hamburgers and fries drenched in various sauces for dinner.“And look, this is the evidence... well, you know, the forged orders and documents Frederick used to get Debbie’s grandpa and mom... uh, well...” Christian trailed off, making a face before glancing over to the shelf on the right, where they had placed the recovered keychain next to a photo of Deborah’s grandfather and mother.“Relax, son. It’s a terrible truth... but at least now my fath
Deborah smiled and nodded in agreement, reaching for her juice.“Come on, chubby, help me get the burgers onto the trays,” Caroline called.“Here you go, father-in-law, take this to the table,” Jayden said, handing him a bowl of fries.“Got it,” Nicholas replied with a grin, amused by the joy on his daughter’s face as she eyed the food.[Don’t forget the sauces, please,] Deborah requested.“Haha, that’s my grandson talking,” Nicholas teased, making Deborah blush.“Come on, don’t give them a hard time,” Jayden laughed, carrying a tray with the sauces.Caroline and Christian brought the burgers to the table, and soon everyone was eating.The five of them enjoyed a pleasant moment, chatting about the arrival of baby James and the nursery’s decorations.After the meal, Deborah fell asleep, and Jayden carried her to the bedroom for a more comfortable rest.“Alright, we’re going to follow Deborah’s example and head out,” Caroline said, taking her husband’s hand.“Thanks for coming