LOGIN"Your Honor, the plaintiffs are relying on a shortened interpretation of the clause in question. They claim that Ms. Dally here, failed to resolve the matter within two weeks, and therefore forfeits her right to continue operations."The investors' attorney nodded smugly."However," Nicole continued, "the full clause contains a hidden condition. The plaintiffs only have the right to take legal action if Ms. Dally fails to provide a credible suspect responsible for the contamination incident. Not proof of guilt, simply a suspect tied to the case."The courtroom went still.Nicole pulled a document from his briefcase. "As the court can see, Ms. Dally has already presented a suspect, the missing secretary, Faustina, who disappeared shortly after the contamination was discovered. The requirement for immediate action has therefore not been violated."The investors' attorney sprang to her feet. "Your Honor, that's absurd! A missing secretary is not a credible suspect…""The clause does not
The morning sun cast long shadows across the courthouse steps.Emily helped Nicole out of the car, her hand steadying him as he winced against the pain in his side. The bullet wound was still fresh, barely twenty-four hours old, but he had refused to stay in the hospital or to rest, he had also refused to let the case collapse in his absence."You're going to tear your stitches," Emily murmured, her voice tight with worry."I'll tear them after we win," Nicole replied, forcing a faint smile. "Priorities."She wanted to argue. She wanted to drag him back to the hospital and chain him to the bed. But she knew him well enough to understand that nothing would stop him from walking into that courtroom and the wound in question was well dressed behind an open blazer suit jacket.So she simply held his arm and walked beside him.They had talked on the way to the courthouse.Emily had told him everything, about Carl's sudden appearance, the attack, the rescue. Especially, about the way Carl
The air was thick in the hospital, the doctors hurried over, nurses and gurneys. The sterile smell of antiseptic and fear.Emily was pushed aside as they wheeled Nicole into the emergency room. Her eyes followed his body until it disappeared behind the doors that swung shot, and she was left alone in the waiting area, her hands still shaking, her heart still pounding.She didn't know how long she sat there. But they had become so cold, more bumps rose on skin unapologetically despite the heater at the end of the wall.She checked her wrist watch every now and then minutes turned into hours and hours, an eternity.Then a doctor emerged quite long enough, tired, bloodied gloves, but he was calm and it gave her hope."Ms. Dally?" He called attentively.Emily stood, her knees barely holding her. "How is he? Is he…""Quite stable." The doctor's voice was gentle. "Luckily, the bullet struck his right side. It missed all vital organs. We've removed it and repaired the damage. He's weak, and
A figure crashed through the glass, a blur of motion, of fury, of impossible timing. Carl landed on the floor in a roll, coming up with a weapon that had materialized from nowhere.The men froze."DROP HIM," Carl roared.They didn't.The first man lunged at Carl, swinging a knife. Carl sidestepped, caught his arm, and twisted it behind his back with a sickening crack. The knife clattered to the floor. The man screamed.The second man reached for his weapon.Carl was faster unfortunately for himHe closed the distance in two strides, drove his fist into the man's jaw, and sent him crashing against the wall. The man slid down, unconscious.The third man, the one who had spoken to Emily, dropped Nicole and turned to flee.Carl grabbed him by the collar, spun him around, and slammed him against the floor."WHO SENT YOU?" Carl's voice was a snarl. "WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?"The man laughed, a wet, bloodied sound. "You think I'd tell you? You think I'm stupid enough to…"Carl's fist connected w
The world had become a blur of chaos and trauma in just a few minutes. Emily's hands were still pressed against Nicole's wound, blood seeping through her fingers, her mind screaming at her to do something, anything while her body remained frozen in terror. The gunman remained, not moving an inch forward, she could hear voices downstairs. More of them were coming closer coming closer. Pointing the gun at Emily he gestured to her to move aside or he would finish off what he started. Emily obeyed, moving to the side, shaking as she did. He grabbed his phone from his pocket. “Yes, we have target one. Target two is not in perimeter, repeat target two is not in perimeter” his voice echoed over the phone. Fresh tears gushed down Emily's eyes, the lovely evening table remained a disaster. A circular pool of blood formed slowly underneath Nicole’s now unconscious body. Emily shuddered quietly at a corner wondering what they wanted. Why were they here? How did they get in? Who w
“What and who are you?” She asked observing that the caller had a private ID.“Is this Callie?” “No! It's not!” Emily almost yelled.“Sorry, wrong number, I’m really sorry, whoever this is. It's a prank call for someone else, sorry once again” replied the caller.“Yeah, how about you silly kids be a bit more careful about the number you dial next time!” Emily rasped with annoyance before ending the call rapidly. And heaving a sigh of relief.Emily closed her laptop and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples.The house was warm. The soft glow of the kitchen light spilled into the dining room, where Nicole had arranged a simple but elegant dinner. Candles, roses and wine. The scent of grilled fish and roasted vegetables filled the air.“Who’s that?” Asked Nicole“Some silly highschool kids trying to prank call one of their friends” Emily sighed.Nicole chuckled lightly."You finally finished?" he asked, a gentle smile on his face.Emily swallowed "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it
The gates of the mansion slid open soundlessly as Emily drove in. It was nearly 10pm. Emily sighed. She had a bath, put on her thick fluffy pink robe. A fresh feeling washed over her but it could never be enough to wipe away the fear of what was coming. She heaved a huge sigh neither relieved nor e
Leslie lay on the hospital beds. He had a few strings attached to his arms which he used to receive drips and medications.They also fixed a tiny pipe to his stomach through his nose. Emily settled beside him on the bed. He stretched his feeble little hands out to her till his fingers brushed again
She horned desperately at the gates and waited for a reply from behind. The gates were made to auto-open for only one car, Carl's car. She leaned against the wheel, her heart pounding wishing she could blow the gate open. His home looked almost the same for almost 7 years now after everything, the
She pressed harder on the accelerator, sending the car blasting down the empty road. The journey was far to go and the faster she figured out what was actually going on, the sooner her problems came to an end. The lieutenant followed suit as the detective she contacted also pulled up from the right







