Chapter 4
Emily choked on her words.
Her eyes landed on me.
I was sitting across the table from her. I looked up and gave her a polite nod.
I greeted them. "Ms. Sutton, Mr. Foster."
My voice was calm, clear, not a hint of a tremor. "Long time no see."
Emily's face went from pale to red and back to pale in a matter of seconds.
Edward stood behind her, his eyes widening in shock.
"Samantha?" he stammered.
"Take a seat," I said, without even looking up from my file. "The pretrial conference is about to start."
Emily didn't move.
She stared at the files in front of me, the badge pinned to my lapel, and the nameplate on the table behind me that read "Henry's Counsel: Samantha Reed."
"How could you..." Emily stammered.
"How could I be your opposing counsel?" I finished for her. "Ms. Sutton, that's not a very professional question.
"Lawyers take cases based on their clients, not on your approval."
Emily's hand tightened around her file.
Edward was the first to regain his composure.
He tugged at Emily's arm and said in a low voice, "Sit down."
They both sat down.
Edward looked at me, his gaze complicated.
"Samantha, I didn't think you'd still be a lawyer," he said.
"Yeah," I replied, "no one's slipped me anything to shut me up since then."
The air froze.
Edward's smile stiffened.
Emily's nails dug into her palm.
The judge's assistant walked in. "Are both parties here? Alright, let's get started."
I closed my file and looked across the table.
Edward had already regained that smooth, composed look.
But I noticed his fingers trembled ever so slightly as he flipped through the papers.
'Scared now?' I thought. 'It's too late.'
The pretrial conference was pretty standard.
We exchanged evidence lists and clarified the main points of contention.
Emily was representing Henry's ex-wife, demanding a split of their marital assets: three properties, shares in two companies, and an offshore trust fund.
The total value was 1.5 billion dollars.
Emily had clearly done her homework. She laid out the issues with crystal clarity, her pace steady and confident.
But I caught a flaw, one she didn't even notice.
She was using common law standards to argue the offshore trust fund's legal status.
This was a Valdorian court.
Law of Valdoria applied here.
I didn't call her out right then.
No need.
Better to save it for the real trial.
When the pretrial conference wrapped up, the judge's assistant called for a break.
I gathered my files and stood up.
Emily suddenly called out, "Samantha."
I stopped and looked at her.
She stood up, chin held high, but there was a flicker of panic in her eyes.
She said, "You think this case is your big comeback?
"Henry's ex-wife's claims are legit, and the evidence is airtight. Not even God could change the outcome now."
I zipped up my file bag.
"Ms. Sutton," I said, "see you in court."
I turned and walked away.
In the hallway, Lucas came running up to me.
"Samantha! Did you see Emily's face just now? It was priceless! Her hands were shaking!" Lucas said.
"That's just how it goes," I replied.
"She definitely didn't expect you to be the one on the other side," Lucas said.
"She has no idea what's coming next," I replied.
I pushed open the courthouse doors, the sunlight blinding.
My phone buzzed.
It was a message from Edward.
["Samantha, can we meet tonight? I think we should talk about this case."] He said.