Xavier~
"Mr. Thompson, I would like to meet you tomorrow morning." Her message beeped on my phone.
What does she want to discuss so urgently that she texted me at midnight, even after today's incident? I pondered over her text. I know She wants to withdraw from my case, but why would she want to meet me again? Placing my phone on the side table, I immersed myself again in today's events.
The more I try to put my life and my broken heart back together, the more confused I get. My life has become a gigantic mess.
Jordan Lucas is not in prison. Jordan Lucas put Alicia in my life to exact retribution on me, but instead of doing so, he murdered his pawn and ensnared me in her murder investigation. I kept getting more and more entangled in this murder case whenever I attempted to gather evidence that would show my innocence.
However, my conflicting emotions toward Isabella are exacerbating the situation, not to mention that the murder case itself is the primary cause of my distress. Even though I know Alan is not my child, my heart still aches to be with him. I don't understand why I behaved so aggressively after seeing her son.
She is right. Alan is not my son; after all, how is it possible that in just a one-night encounter, she got pregnant? However, I'd like to see her husband soon so I can find out who the lucky man is who has replaced me in her life and heart. Alan inherited my face shape from his father, and I often wondered how her husband managed to look just like me. I'm not sure when I fall asleep with my life's miseries on my mind.
I got out of my hotel room early the following morning to meet Bella. I mentally prepared myself for her sour comments, but she surprised me by acting differently than I had anticipated.
"Please come, Mr. Thompson; Miss Luis was waiting for you." Her assistant took me to Bella's office.
Bella's expression surprised me, as I hadn't expected such a warm greeting in her office. It's obvious from the dark circle under her eyes that she didn't get any sleep the night before. Could it be that our dispute caused her to have a restless night? No, that's not possible; she must be working on her cases. I looked into her eyes, trying to interpret her state of mind.
"This is my son's DNA report, Mr. Thompson, and it unequivocally confirms his identity as Noah Luis' son." She placed the envelope before me.
"I apologize for any confusion, but the moment I see Alan, I lose my composure and become overly attached to him." I lowered my head and focused on my bandaged hand.
"I understand that Alan is naturally friendly, which is why he easily makes friends with everyone." She nodded her head and put the envelope back into her purse.
My heart is still not ready to accept the fact that he is not my kid, even though I have already seen the evidence.
"How is he feeling now?" I feel compelled to inquire about Alan's health.
"Now he is all right." Her icy, distant gaze remained locked on my hand, covered in bandages.
"Can I meet him again?" I noticed her stern countenance soften into one, and I gazed at her with hope.
"No." She answered right away in an aggressive voice.
"OK, take care of him." I let out a defeated sigh and rose from the chair to exit her office.
I hesitated before leaving. Alan's innocent face, the bond I imagined forming between us, still haunted me. I couldn't shake the image from my mind. But I had to push those emotions aside. No matter how much I wanted something more, there wasn't room for those feelings right now.
Bella's tone had already made it clear that the walls between us were firmly in place. My heart clenched, but my mind shifted to the more pressing matter.
I can't dwell on this now, I thought, forcing me to refocus.
"Mr. Thompson, could we concentrate on your murder case, given that there are only 15 days remaining until the next hearing and we have yet to gather any evidence?" Upon hearing her voice, I turned to look at her in surprise.
"Are you still my attorney?" Incredulous, I asked her.
"Don't tell me you hired a new defender for yourself." She opened the file and fixed her gaze on it.
"But yesterday you told me..." Her contradictory behavior perplexed me once more.
"Mr. Thompson, let's put yesterday behind us and concentrate on the present. I also showed you Alan's DNA report to make sure you stayed within your limitations and never crossed them again." She raised her face from the file and looked into my eyes.
"Of course, I have to be."
With each passing day, she shattered my dreams of her becoming close to me, and my heart yearned for her presence more and more. Although I made an effort to keep our business connection on a professional level, I felt like I had crossed boundaries after spending time with her. It's difficult to resist her, especially after meeting Alan. Despite the numerous DNA reports she provided, I remained filled with mistrust until I met her husband.
"I traced every IMEI number's location and discovered that your house was the source of those phone calls."
"What?" My jaw dropped open in disbelief.
"How is this even possible?Are you implying that Jordan lived with me at all times?" I gulped down my saliva to digest the new revelation in this case.
"No, I didn't mean to say this; I am saying Jordan Lucas was all around you and kept his watch on your every activity. He hijacked your house security connection so that he could contact Alicia freely without leaving any trace behind." She expressed the possibility of the situation.
"Given his expertise in hacking and his reputation as a cybercriminal, it's plausible that he could handle the situation." I remembered his old traps, which he used to manipulate the court in the past.
"Regardless of his intelligence level, we need to uncover a flaw."
She let out her frustration by putting pen to paper, having spent five hours brainstorming without concluding.
"Since you look into him in more than half of your cases, Mr. Thompson, I'm sure you know a lot about him. Just try to recall what his vulnerability is." She pleaded with me to force my memory to recall Jordan's weakness.
While sipping our coffee, we contemplated his potential flaws, but our thoughts remained empty. I raked my fingers through my hair and walked from one corner of her office to another, but I couldn't recall any specific weakness about him.
"Mr. Thomspon, it is impossible that he was without a weakness; everyone has them in life. For example, your dad's weakness is his ethics, your weakness is your success obsession, and my weakness is my.." She paused before admitting her frailty.
"Yes, you are right; I found his weakness. I can now tell you where Jordan Lucas is." Discovering Jordan Lucas's vulnerability brought a contented smile to my face.