Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 52699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
All seven were charged with attempted murder, property theft, unlawful breaking and entering.
Six pleaded not guilty, while the other one, a female named “Elizabeth Tanner” went to trial.
She was found guilty and given the longest sentence.
Ten years.
No hues of gray.
All black and white.
Under the summary note was a lavender sheet of paper, marred with Elizabeth’s cursive handwriting.
Dear Damien,
I didn’t tell you why I ventured out of town every other weekend, but…I’m sure you can draw a final conclusion from here.
Yes, I’m aware that taking over my sister’s life halfway into her Harvard career was wrong, and that practicing law without a license is a crime…but she insisted on taking my place since she was the reason we broke into that theater that night to begin with.
I promised I’d fight like hell to get a real lawyer to get her out one day.
Even if you fire me (and I know you’ll have to) could you please use your pro bono case to help my sister?’
Please…
FALSE PRETENSES (N.)
THE CRIME OF KNOWINGLY MAKING UNTRUE STATEMENTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF OBTAINING MONEY OR PROPERTY FRAUDULENTLY
ELIZABETH
Seattle, Washington
Several Months ago
The doors at Mission Creek Corrections Center slammed shut, sending a shiver down my spine. No matter how often I came to this prison, it always felt like my first day.
The constant noise in the visitors area was forever unsettling—babies crying, guards yelling orders, the speaker system constantly intruded on us with reminders about how many minutes we had left to stay.
I plopped down in front of my sister’s table, eyeing the new bruise above her left eye.
I knew better than to ask about it; whoever gave it to her probably received far worse bruises in return.
“Look at you,” she said, smiling. “You’ve gotten yourself one hell of a wardrobe upgrade. I’m impressed.”
“Yeah…” I set my briefcase on the table. “I just got a new job at a firm, so I have resources to help you now.”
“Which firm?”
“Hamilton and Associates.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “Like Andrew Hamilton?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow. I’m jealous.”
“Don’t be,” I said. “My boss is a jackass who thinks the world revolves around him.”
She laughed. “I’ve heard worse things about Mr. Hamilton.”
“I’m not talking about him,” I said. “I’m talking about Mr. Carter. He’s a douchebag.”
I refused to waste any of our time talking about Damien. “I need you to sign off on this engagement letter for their pro bono program, so I can get to work.”
She took the paper from me and raised her eyebrow. “Is there another lawyer that can help you with this? I mean, I trust you to do the work, but…You know you can only take it so far.”
“I know,” I said. “I’ll figure that out.”
She signed it and leaned forward.
“Have Foster Mom or Foster Dad asked about me lately?”
“All the time,” I said. “They even drive to New York on weekends and join me for lunch.”
“And you gave them front row tickets to your opening night at Broadway?”
“Of course. They were the first ones in the audience to give me a standing ovation.”
She snorted. “You truly are an amazing actress, Elizabeth.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled. “What’s bothering you?”
“I’m not lawyer material,” I said. “I’ve gone far past faking it. Pretending can only take me so far.”
“You’re the smartest person in every room you walk into.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Always have been.”
“No touching!” The skinny guard bellowed from across the room, and Ellie pulled away from me.
“Look,” she said, “Any person who can get hired at Hamilton and Associates is beyond great lawyer material. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have made it past the application phase from what I’ve heard.”
“It’s hard, Ellie.” Tears welled in my eyes. “So hard, and I feel like the paperwork and the writing are the easy parts. This other stuff? Running around town like I’m some type of detective or a crime scene expert is. They’re going to find out the truth about me and you sooner or later.”
“Elizabeth…”
“They are.” I kept my voice low. “Mr. Carter is right…Memorizing things and passing tests in school is one thing, but the moment I actually try to practice the actual law? I can’t write a closing argument or summarize a decent brief to save my life.”
“Deep breaths.” She clasped my hand. “You can do this for a few more months. Preferably years, but at least a few more months.”
“You say that like you think I’m smart enough to get you out of here.”
“I know you are.” She smiled. “You’re a lawyer. A real deal lawyer.”
“I’m a fraud who picked up at Harvard where you left off.”
“And you did one hell of a job.” She chided. “Now, show me where you’re having issues. We only have an hour of this visit left.”
UNCLEAN HANDS (N.)
A DEFENSE TO A COMPLAINT, WHICH STATES THAT A PARTY WHO IS ASKING FOR A JUDGMENT CANNOT HAVE THE HELP OF THE COURT IF HE/SHE HAS DONE ANYTHING UNETHICAL IN RELATION TO THE SUBJECT OF THE LAWSUIT