Xavier's silhouette stretched thin and foreboding across the soft carpet of his study as he made his way in, the weight of the night's revelations weighing heavily on him. Like a predator, he moved towards the decanter, its amber contents glinting in the dim lighting, pouring himself a generous amount of whiskey with graceful ease. The crystal glass chilled his lips, while the heat of the drink burned fiercely down his throat—an intense contrast to the numbness that had settled into his mind.A mirthless chuckle, rough and guttural, escaped him, sounding more like a growl than a laugh. Life, with its twisted sense of humor, had dealt him a hand that he couldn't even begin to remember being dealt before. An accusation so foul, from a woman whose face remained a blur, gnawed at his insides like a relentless parasite. He took another sip of his drink, the amber liquid burning down his throat as he fought off the urge to hurl the glass and watch it shatter into a million sharp fragments o

Cathleen's eyelids fluttered open to the sterile light of dawn filtering through her sleek, modern office. She'd spent the night there again, with the couch becoming a makeshift bed more often than not. The ritual of morning coffee and case briefs lay shattered; James had always been her metronome, setting the rhythm of her day with uncanny precision. Today, silence greeted her as discordant and wrong.She perched on the edge of her desk, the screen in front of her already alive with the courtroom's austere ballet—lawyers pirouetting around legal precedents, the plaintiff's counsel animated and bold. Yet the space for defense was empty—an absence that gnawed at her gut. "Where the hell are you, James?" she muttered, her thoughts jagged in her mind.Her hand reached for the phone, a lifeline to clarity, but it buzzed first, disrupting the stillness. "James, you are running late?" She snapped before he could speak, her voice a whip crack in the quiet office."Fuck, Cathy..." The strain

The courtroom hushed, the air thick with tension, as Cathleen's lips curled into a knowing smirk. She pierced Anastasia with her gaze, unyielding and as sharp as a scalpel. "Miss Brown, I would like you to repeat your statement," she demanded, her voice cutting through the whispers that had begun to swirl like vultures around a carcass.Anastasia's voice trembled, her eyes darting about, seeking an escape that wasn't there. "I said I don't know. I don't remember."Cathleen spun on her heel to face the judge, the hem of her tailored gown flirting with the edge of aggression. "Your honor, Miss Brown doesn't remember what happened that night. How then did she remember she was raped?" Her query hung in the air, an accusation cloaked in concern. "How can we take a statement from someone who remembers nothing at all into consideration? If Miss Brown's memory is a blank slate for that night, your honor, I'm afraid there's no goddamn case here."Nods rippled across the room, silently assentin

Edward's fists clenched as he stood outside the heavy oak door, the veins in his hands throbbing like angry serpents under his skin. He rapped sharply on the wood, each knocks echoing through the silent corridor with the weight of desperation. The study was a sanctum of power, where destinies were altered with a single word from the old man seated within."Come in," came the gravelly voice from the other side."Father!" Edward exhaled, pushing the door open. His heart pounded against his ribs, each beating like a drum of war in the quiet study.The old man sat ensconced behind a massive desk, a fortress of mahogany and leather-bound books. His gaze, sharp as a blade, cut through Edward. He slowly and deliberately removed his glasses, letting them dangle from one hand, a silent command for Edward to speak."I have been trying to get Finn out of jail, but I can’t seem to get through the authorities," Edward said, his voice a tightrope of control."Why?" The syllable was a bullet, quick

The ornate, wrought-iron doors of the opulent Knight residence groaned their welcome as Cathleen swung her sleek car into the grand driveway. Despite the luxurious surroundings, every line of her body exuded reluctance and a sense of being trapped. With a decisive jab of her finger, she killed the engine, a symbolic gesture that could not mask her true intentions: she wasn't staying, not if she could help it. The sprawling mansion loomed before her, its imposing presence a constant reminder of Xavier's control over her. To Cathleen, it was nothing more than an ornate cage, beautiful on the outside but suffocating within its gilded walls."Damn sham," Cathleen muttered under her breath, her voice a low hiss as she gathered herself for the charade. Her hand rested protectively over the subtle swell of her abdomen; the child within was hers alone, Xavier be damned.With calculated poise, she stepped out into the crisp air, her heels clicking on the stone like a metronome ticking toward h