It was 7:40 in the night and Alexander sat in the precinct, thinking about what Eva was up to. Did she talk to Lucas? Did he decline help? Who could he turn to for help now? His door unlocked and the officer in charge summoned him.
“Your defense attorney is here to see you.” Alexander released a sigh of relief, realizing that Lucas might have sent an attorney to help him out. He followed the officer out to a room where a middle-aged, distinguished-looking man was waiting for him. The officer left them alone, locking the door and waiting outside.
“Hello, Mr. Van Every! I’m Chris Fitzgerald, a criminal defense attorney with fifteen years of experience in handling complex criminal cases in and around New York. Lucas Donnelly has sent me to fight your case, but I would need more details. Can we sit down and plan a strategy to get you out of this mess?” said the attorney, stretching his hand forward for a shake.
“Hello, Mr. Fitzgerald. Pleased to meet you.” Alexander shook hands with him and sat down to discuss what exactly had happened earlier. Mr. Fitzgerald listened intently, recording his statement.
“Before we proceed, I want to know if you’ve given any statement to the cops that could go against you.”
“No, I haven’t spoken a word, but they’ve taken my DNA sample and fingerprints against my wishes,” said Alexander, feeling alarmed.
“You should have exercised your right to remain silent till you hired a defense attorney for yourself,” he said with a frown, making Alexander’s heart sink with dread.
“Oh, I didn’t know. Will it go against me?”
“That depends on the evidence found. I will conduct a thorough, independent defense investigation to determine the facts and to collect evidence. I’ll visit the scene of the crime and check the facts myself before coordinating with the police. Tell me one thing, Mr. Van Every. Who do you suspect? Who could have framed you? I want to know of any enemies you might have. Did anyone try to frame you before?” he asked, noting down everything.
“Yes, Mr. Fitzgerald. My suspicions are on Beatrix Rotterdam, the heir to Rotterdams where I used to work as CEO. I stepped down a month back after I was framed in a fake financial scam. She was the one who had framed me after I declined to marry her.” Mr. Fitzgerald looked very interested in this angle and started asking more questions. Alexander answered him in detail, explaining everything that had happened. He told his lawyer about Beatrix’s motives and her forced marriage to Cromwell.
“That’s not all. She tried to murder my wife, too.”
“Tell me how she had planned to murder your wife,” Alexander told him everything, and he noted down points to help him frame his strategy better.
“So, Beatrix Rotterdam seems to be the mastermind behind this, but after her marriage, why would she want to frame you? Why would she murder Andre Strasbourg, who was the most efficient CEO of her business? No, Mr. Van Every! I can’t find any sound motive here. I don’t think this is Ms. Rotterdam’s handiwork.” Alexander was deep in thought. If it wasn’t Beatrix, who could it be? Who would benefit from murdering Strasbourg and framing him?
“Today, I received ten missed calls from Beatrix at lunchtime. I wanted nothing to do with her, so I didn’t accept her calls.”
“I see! I’m now certain that Ms. Rotterdam isn’t involved. The question is, who will benefit by removing Mr. Strasbourg and you from the scene?” asked the attorney, deep in thought.
“Mr. Cromwell?” asked Alexander, his eyes widening with shock.
“Exactly! He’s our man! Give me all the addresses and numbers that would lead me to him. It’s time to raid his house.”
“He has moved into Beatrix’s home,” said Alexander, and Mr. Fitzgerald looked at him quizzically.
“Is he after his wife’s money? What type of man is Cromwell?” he asked with interest.
“He is shrewd, cunning, and is after her business, actually. It had been his dream to uproot me and take over as CEO of Rotterdams. Beatrix’s dad, Desmond Rotterdam, the actual owner of the company, didn’t favor him. He was my dad’s best friend and favored me instead for his business and his daughter. He made a will that stated that the business will go to the man she marries as long as she remains married to him. She isn’t interested in the business and uncle Desmond had no other way to ensure that she isn’t cheated. After his death, I moved on with the girl I love and when Beatrix failed to get me to marry her, she married Cromwell instead,” said Alexander.
“I see. It’s an obvious case. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Van Every. I’ll see you tomorrow with the results before your initial bail hearing.”
“What are my chances of getting bail, Mr. Fitzgerald?”
“Next to nil since you’ve been arrested at the site of murder with the weapon in your hands. It has your fingerprints. Still, I’ll try my best. The police will present the information about the case to the District Attorney’s Office, where they will then determine whether to file charges against you. I’ll coordinate with the Assistant District Attorney if I find a breakthrough else we have to wait for the arraignment.”
“Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald. We need to discuss your fees before you go,” said Alexander.
“That had been taken care of. Your sister, Alyssa, and her husband have paid me a flat fee. It’s all-inclusive as of now,” said the lawyer. Alexander was surprised that Alyssa and Nicholas hadn’t gone on their honeymoon. The lawyer mentioned the amount and Alexander felt a little uncomfortable accepting such a huge amount from his sister. After all, she worked for VE Global Finance and he wanted nothing to do with his dad’s company.
“Are you sure, Mr. Fitzgerald? My sister got married today and should have left on her honeymoon.” Mr. Fitzgerald got up and smiled at him.
“She canceled her trip. I met all of them at Lucas’s house. Your wife is also there. Don’t worry, they’re trying to schedule an in-person visit for tomorrow. I’ll be on my way. See you tomorrow,” said the lawyer, knocking at the closed door for the police officer to unlock. After he left, they led Alexander back to his cell.
The Next Morning:
Daniel Van Every opened his morning newspaper and his eyes fell upon a piece of news that totally devastated him.
CEO Murders CEO: Rotterdams caught in the eye of the storm
The article had photographs of Alexander and Mr. Strasbourg and explains how Alexander plotted a cold-blooded murder and had been arrested last evening at the scene of the crime.
“I knew it. I knew that girl would compel him towards his doom. He has now murdered a man because of her!” said Daniel Van Every, making his wife give him a clueless look.
“Who are you talking about?” Her husband handed her the newspaper to read the article.
“Your precious son has landed up in prison. He has been arrested for murder!” he exclaimed agitatedly.
“Oh, my God! What do we do now? Why don’t you give him access to his money? He would need it badly, Daniel,” said his wife with tears in her eyes.
“No, let him see his wife’s true colors. Do you think she’ll stick around? I want him to know what type of woman he married. Let him learn his lesson.” More tears fell from Jodie Van Every’s eyes, and she gave her husband a pleading look.
“Why should we make Alexander suffer so much because of her? He has done a lot for us, Daniel. Please release his funds.” Jodie Van Every buckled because of her love for her son. She couldn’t see him suffer. It didn’t matter to her now who he married. She might hate Eva, but not at the expense of her son. She just wanted him safe, but her husband seemed to think differently.
“No, I have a better idea.” Before Jodie Van Every could stop him, he took out his mobile phone and called Eva.
At Sienna’s House:
Eva’s eyes popped out at seeing Alexander’s dad calling her. “Who is it?” asked Sienna eagerly at seeing the hesitation on her face.
“Alexander’s dad.” Eva glanced at her helplessly, her throat drying up with nervousness. She couldn’t speak to him out of fear. Then why was he calling her instead of his daughter?
“Is dad calling you? What does he want? Maybe he read the newspaper now and is worried about Alex. Maybe he doesn’t know that I’ve canceled our honeymoon plans. Accept the call, Eva,” coaxed Alyssa, who too had stayed over last night with her at Sienna’s house.
With trembling hands, Eva swiped across the screen to accept the call, but Alyssa reached out and pressed the key, putting it on speaker mode!
“Hello,” Eva croaked nervously into the phone.