Chapter 201 - Cole’s Sixteenth Birthday (1)
"Parkinson's?" Lily emulated his voice. She raised her voice. "Is this so kind of candy that you are asking to have?" Her voice beca louder. "You just want to go to the doctor's office and say that 'Hey give a certificate of a disease I don't have and that too make it quick!" She tilted her head. "Then what will doctor say?" She gestured with her index finger. "Yes, Mrs. Wyatt, here you go. We officially make you a patient who has mory issues. And then what will follow?" she almost barked with her spit showering the lawyers around her, who all leaned back in their chairs. "The whole company would co to know and whatever dignity is left in will be flushed down in the toilet and all employees are going to take advantage!" She glared hard at Hertz. "You must be joking!"
Hertz was in his mid-forties, balding but pretty maintained. He pressed his lips in a thin line. This woman was more difficult in person than what he had heard. She was practically insane. He suggested, "How about Schizophrenia?" He shrugged his shoulders. "That would look better," he said, actually aning to say that it would sound natural.
"Shut up!" she literally yelled at him. "I will not make myself look mad or amnesiac to counter that defamation case. Think of sothing else. For God's sake, I have ten lawyers sitting in front of , which ans ten brains. Don't tell that none of you know a way around this ss."
One of the junior lawyers, fresh out of the university, spoke, "Mrs. Wyatt, we have all discussed your problem and this is the only solution of this problem, unless—"
"Unless what?" she spat again.
The lawyers leaned back in their chairs. So of them moved their chairs farther away.
"Unless you want to pay twenty million dollars…"
Lily's eyes bulged and knees beca wobbly. Her head beca dizzy. "Twenty million?" she whispered. That was the amount Dawn had sued her for.
Hertz shook his head and gave a dirty look to the junior lawyer. 'These new lawyers…' he shook his head.
Lily thought that she saw stars in her vision once again. Her breathing beca shallow. "Is there no way to defend ourselves?" she asked in a voice so low that it was difficult to believe that she was shouting a few seconds back. She looked like a plucked chicken.
"There isn't," Hertz shook his head. "We have debated each and every legal angle."
As if this was still sinking, one of the lawyers on her right said, "The plaintiff has asked for an early date of hearing in the court for The Starfish Refineries. Mr. David McDow and you are summoned for the first hearing. It seems that they have unearthed a solid evidence against you." He pushed a folder in front of her. Pointing with his chin he said, "This is the evidence."
By now whatever little breath was left in her lungs was whooshed out. She gasped. This was akin to nightmares, no this was a nightmare. With trembling hands, she opened the folder. It contained the information about all the bribes that they had made for hefty bids to the governnt employees. Her face paled and seeing that she was about to faint, Hertz got up from his chair and ran to fetch a glass of water for her.
Lily gulped down the entire glass in one go and Hertz got another glass of water.
David hadn't co back. He was still on his vacation with Rose and her poor daughter was in the house. She felt like crying for Anne. But she often wondered as to why the two stray away from each other. They had loved each other a lot. Then what happened?
"Mrs. Wyatt, should we fix an appointnt with a doctor?" asked the junior lawyer. "The sooner it is, the better it would be…"
"Are you certain there is no way out?" she asked for one last ti.
"We are certain," Hertz replied for all of them.
She looked at the ten lawyers sitting in her office. All of them were staring at her while she took turns to see them. These ten advocates couldn't do a thing about the defamation case. Dawn had carefully and slowly built a very strong case against her. She suspected that her husband was also behind her as a pillar of support. She had to concede to what the lawyers said. "Okay, you can take an appointnt, but keep it a secret. I don't want this to be leaked in social dia else I am dood!"
"Yes, Madam," said Hertz. "I will ensure it."
Lily started collecting her purse in order to leave when Hertz interjected, "You will have to appear for the first hearing in three weeks."
Her heart sank. Just a day back she was thinking of going on a vacation with her family because she had thought that she had successfully eliminated Dawn, and today she was sitting with her lawyers discussing her options to co off the muddle Dawn had woven around her.
"Okay… I will appear," she said in a low dejected voice.
"I would like to suggest sothing, Mrs. Wyatt," Hertz continued in a grave voice.
"What?"
"Although we all are gathered here to help you with keeping the Starfish Refineries intact, we are of the opinion that if you agree to all the allegations that are charged against you, your jail sentence is going to reduce a lot."
Lily picked up the glass and splashed the water across his face. "No one can put in jail!" She grabbed her purse and walked out of the eting room.
---
Three weeks later…
Cole's sixteenth birthday.
Ever since Quetz had left, Cole had beco very quiet. He didn't know how to handle his feelings. Conversation with Dawn was concise. He didn't know why Quetz left so suddenly. He had been up all night to talk to him, as he wanted to apologize for being rude to him, but when he went to et Quetz the following morning, his bed was empty. Dawn inford him that Quetz had left for good. His heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
And now… his heart longed to et Quetz… He thought that if he didn't see Quetz soon, he might go mad. He had never been so fixated on anyone in his life.
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