THE MYSTERIOUS PROTÉGE

THREE

“Lindsay could you be still for a while,” I remember telling my small sister while I was trying to put a sweater on her, “it would be much faster if you stopped squirming.” I would tell her using sign language. But she was such a happy soul with a spirit of exploring.

Clover Summers is my sister who became deaf when she was younger. It was an accident or so I was told by my ‘mother’. It was an adjustment for me considering this wasn’t my actual real family, but I grew to love her and I was willing to make any necessary adjustments. Today marks 7 years to the day she was killed in a hit and run car accident. I wasn’t any closer to getting the man who killed her but I was starting to feel as though I was failing her. We lived in a fairly nice and peaceful environment, this made it even impossible to believe that Clover’s death was and accident. It is my fault she died, I was a teenager and I was to watch her, but I didn’t want to be watching her on a weekend while everyone my age was out there making memories. I was doing a trashy job in watching her and that led to a series of events that keep taunting me day and night.

Neil Gunner, the driver who hit my sister, a smug rich guy who didn’t feel any remorse for his actions. His army of lawyers blamed everyone else but their client for the accident. First it was me for incompetence then it was my parents for negligence and child endangerment for entrusting Clover to me, as they put it an ignorant, incapable teenage girl. It’s clear to say that by the end of the day Neil Gunner walked away with no punishment, my ‘mother’ was heartbroken after the trial, she was no longer the same woman I knew before and I couldn’t help but feel I was to blame, I wanted to make it right the best way I knew how. I finished high school and went to study law within our own city so I can be close to home. Close to Clover and also close to Southside School of the Deaf, Clover’s former school where I started volunteering after the court let Neil walked away. In some weird way being in that school with those children helped ease my guilt a little bit and appreciate the love the children showered me with.

After I finished law school I tried finding a job at a prominent law firm but couldn’t considering I was fresh out of law school. I settled to work for the public defender’s office, I thought it would work in my favor as I could also get to see the file of Neil Gunner. It wouldn’t pay much but that wasn’t the reason I was there to begin with.

“Miss Summers you’re required in DA Ryan’s office,” Finn tells me from the doorway.

“I’ll be right there Finn. Thank you,” I responded.

This is not a good sign, I’ve just been in this office for less than a month and the boss wanting me in her office wasn’t something good. I hope I didn’t make a mistake in logging in the cases because that would be a mess. I arrange my desk something I tend to do when I’m nervous. Realizing I was wasting time I scurry off to see Ryan. I’m standing in front of the chipped off door, I take a deep breath to relax my nerves, I bring up my hand to knock the door, “Yes.” Comes the response, I slowly open the door, “Oh great Miss Summers you’re finally here. Please meet Brody Miller, he’s a divorce lawyer. You’ll be working with him on Mrs. Wright case,” she told me authoritatively. I try to respond but Brody bangs his hand on the desk making me finch, “You’re saddling me with the new girl? Has she even been in court yet?” Comes his outburst.

“You wanted this case. Since I’m in charge I give out the assignments. Take it or leave it.” She says leaving no room for discussion. We stand there looking at her as she goes through files on her desk, her eyes look back up at us, “That will be all.” She dismisses us, with a voice showing she was wondering what we were still standing in her office.

I turn to leave, “Summers meet me at my office in an hour to prep Mrs. Wright,” Brody said as he passed me like I wasn’t even there. I walk out closing the door behind me.

I walked back to my cubicle, my adrenaline pumping feeling both excited and nervous. This is my first court appearance, I should make an impression and I should not mess up. I didn’t understand why a divorce was going to court though. I didn’t have the case file so I’ll just have to wait and see.

At exactly one hour I was in Brody’s office, “At least you aren’t tardy. I’ll give you points for that. Shall we?” he said directing me out of his office and into the hall. “We’re meeting Mrs. Wright at the conference room,” he explains after seeing the confusion on my face.

“Hello Mrs. Wright, I’m Brody Miller I’m in charge of your case and this is Blossom Summers my second chair. Shall we begin?” he introduced us and jumped right into business.

“We’re here to prep you. I have to be honest with you, this isn’t going to be easy or comfortable. But we have to know everything so that we aren’t blindsided.” Brody explained.

“I understand. I’d appreciate if you called me Liane. I don’t go by Mrs. Wright anymore.” She answered in a soft yet docile voice.

Brody nodded, handed me a copy of the file, “I’ve been through your file Mrs. Wright… sorry I mean Liane,” Brody corrected himself, “and I have to say I’m confused.” He says with his eyebrows creasing, he opens the file so do I, going through it, “I initially also thought that what Nelson was offering was too good to be true but upon reading the prenuptial agreement I realized it was all part of the plan,” says Liane removing a file from her handbag and giving it to Brody, “this is a copy of the prenuptial agreement and as you can see in the highlighted areas it states that if any partner cheats they stand to loose everything to the other partner. He has had a lot of flings with younger ladies yet he was accusing me of cheating, not to mention all the beating I got from him after he came home drunk. I want to make sure he understands pain and suffering just as I have all these years,” Liane said with determination.

“Forgive me for asking this but you have a lot of money why didn’t you have your own attorney to represent your affairs?” I asked making Brody give me a death stare. I look back at him and take a deep breath, don’t let him intimidate you I tell myself.

Liane chuckled and said, “I didn’t think I’d need an attorney up until now.”

“Okay Liane this case is in great and capable hands. I’ll go through all the necessary papers and set a court date,” Brody assured Liane, handing her his card, “call me if you come across anything else that would help our case.” Brody shakes her hand she shakes mine too and leaves.

“Let me make this clear Summers, don’t ever ask stupid questions like you just did today. I’m first chair and I run the show. Understood?” he told me vehemently. I simply nod my head, “Better pray I don’t loose this client.” Brody said while he walked away from me.

This is going to be hard. Clearly Brody Miller is entitled and cocky, I just hope he doesn’t ruin this case. I go back to my cubicle, deciding to pull an all-nighter to go through Liane’s case. At the end of the day Brody drops by my cubicle to inform the case will be the day after tomorrow in Judge Vega’s courtroom.

I stay in late reading through the prenuptial agreement and the case file, finding nothing important I just closed the file and decided to go home to get some sleep.   

Getting into my old black Chevrolet, I drove home after getting some Chinese take out food. I reached my studio apartment, it was a decent apartment very spacious for this city and the windows gave the most amazing view of the city and most of all the neighbors were friendly. My house wasn’t that fancy but it was big enough with an amazing bathroom which was what made me decide to take the house anyway. Deciding to make a bubble bath to relax myself after the hard day at work. With a glass of white wine and scented candles, as I lowered myself into the warm water I could feel all the tension leaving my body and I just lay there in the silence and warmth. Perfect I thought.

I got out of the water when I started feeling myself drifting off to sleep, put on my pajamas, fluffed my pillows finally sank into the silk smooth sheets sleep consuming me once my head hit the pillow.

I woke up to the incessant ringing of my phone, confused at first then annoyed at whoever woke me up from my beautiful sleep, I never get much of those. I reached out for my phone I looked at the caller ID, unknown. I subconsciously picked up, “Hello,” I said groggily.

“Miss Summers?” came the soft familiar voice.

“Mrs. Wright?” I asked sitting up.

“Yes, it’s me. Could you meet up with me? I’m at Sunnyside Café,” she said in her meek voice.

“Sure. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” I said and hanged up. I look at my phone, it’s 6 in the morning. What would be so important that she would want me to see her at this time of morning. It’s my first case and I didn’t want to mess up so I just went along with it.

It’s almost office hours anyway so I decide to dress for work. I take a quick shower, decide to wear one of my many pant suits settling for a grey one, I put my long brown hair in a high ponytail, picked red stilettos, grabbed my handbag with the keys and left. I drove to the café, Liane was sitting at the table at the corner with a cup of coffee in hand. I head to her, getting the seat opposite her startling her. “Sorry didn’t mean to startle you.” I apologize the waitress comes, I get camomile tea with cream, as the waiter goes to get my order, I ask, “what’s wrong Liane? Why did you call me instead of Brody?”

She looks at me, sighs and starts explaining, “When I first suspected Nelson of cheating I decided to hire a private investigator. You know with Nelson being a well known and rich, if I ever had to file for a divorce I’d need proof to make my case valid. The private investigator followed Nelson around, I thought that maybe he had an affair what I didn’t expect was for him to have an entire secret family,” her voice cracks a bit, she reaches out for something from her bag, hands me an envelope full of pictures of Nelson with another woman at a house, with two children, a boy and girl, at the park, it portrayed a picture of a happy family.

She continues, “I also hired the same private investigator during this divorce period. This is what she captured yesterday evening,” she handed me another folder. I open it to find pictures of Nelson Wright with…

Brody Miller!