LAW SHADOWS

CHAPTER 2

Amelia's POV

One Year Later

A year passed by like a fleeting shadow. I loved my work, but my passion for law stemmed from a painful past. My father was a drunk, a man who used to beat my mother. At that time, I wished I could throw him in jail, but I didn't have the power. That's when I decided to study law—not just to seek justice for my mother, but for anyone who suffered in silence. One of my guiding principles became defending the truth and fighting for those in need of support when they were unjustly accused.

The courtroom was my sanctuary, a place where justice could be served.

"By the evidence presented in the case against Mr. David for theft," Judge Agnes said from the bench, "I find him guilty and sentence him to five years in prison."

I admired how Mrs. Agnes worked. She was a brilliant judge and had become something of a mentor to me. Whenever I had free time, I made sure to attend the trials she presided over. Today was no exception.

As I was leaving the courtroom, I heard a familiar voice call my name.

"Oh, Amelia!" Judge Agnes called from behind.

I turned and walked over to her. "Hello, Judge Agnes. How are you?"

She smiled warmly. "I'm doing well, dear. It's always nice to see you here."

"I love watching the cases you handle. You're an inspiration to me, Mrs. Agnes."

"Come now, you can at least call me Aunt," she said, laughing.

I laughed too. "Alright, Aunt Agnes. It might take a bit of getting used to."

"Are you free now?" she asked.

"Yeah, do you need anything?" I still had time before my meeting with Ed.

"Well, you know this weekend is William's graduation, right? I was thinking of doing some shopping to find him something nice, but I could use a second opinion. Want to help?"

"I'd love to help... Aunt!" I replied with a smile.

"Great! Wait for me while I go change," she said.

I smiled to myself, still feeling a bit awkward around her. She was Ed's mother, after all. I didn't know why it was so hard to get used to being around her. She seemed kind, but there was always this lingering nervousness I couldn't shake.

Five minutes later, she reappeared. "Sorry for keeping you waiting."

"No worries," I replied.

We headed to the mall and spent the afternoon shopping. It turned out to be a pleasant day, and I found myself getting to know Aunt Agnes a little better.

"Thank you so much for helping me today," she said as we finished. "My son has found a good woman, hasn't he?" She hugged me tightly, her praise making me blush.

"Anytime, Aunt. I'm happy to help whenever you need it. Just give me a call."

She nodded and we said our goodbyes. As she drove off, I made my way to Ed's office.

When I arrived, Miss Wen, Ed's colleague, greeted me at the door. "Hi, Amelia. Dan's already here," she said, pointing toward Ed's office. Dan was my legal assistant, always punctual and reliable.

"Hey, everyone," I said, walking into the room.

"Hey," Dan replied.

"I heard you were out shopping with Mom," Ed said with a grin, giving me a kiss.

"Yeah, she wanted company to find something for William's graduation," I explained.

"Wow, getting close to the mother-in-law, huh?" Dan teased.

I rolled my eyes but ignored his comment. "So, shall we get started?"

We sat down to discuss a case Ed was working on. He needed my help to work through some legal angles, and Dan was there to assist as well.

After hours of debating and analyzing, we finally wrapped up the meeting around 6 PM.

"I'm going to crash at William's apartment tonight," Ed said, standing up. "We haven't had a brother-to-brother chat in a while."

"That's great. Tell him I said hi," I replied, giving him a kiss goodbye.

Edward's POV

When I reached William's apartment, I found him sitting on the couch, reading as usual during this time.

"You never change, do you?" I said, dropping my keys on the counter.

He looked up, smiling. "Welcome, brother. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks. What's yours is mine anyway," I joked.

I spotted some pizza on the table, but decided to shower before eating. After freshening up, I sat at the dining table and helped myself to the food.

"We haven't seen Grandpa in a while. How about we go visit him tomorrow evening?" William asked as he flipped through his book.

"I guess Grandpa needed a break from the family drama," I replied with a smirk.

"Is that a yes, or no?" William laughed.

"Yeah, I'm free tomorrow evening. Let's go," I said, finishing the last slice of pizza.

We spent the rest of the night talking about life, our future plans, and everything in between. It was nice to catch up.

The next morning, I headed back to my place early to grab a fresh change of clothes before heading to the office. Mom and Dad had already left for work by the time I got home, so I quickly showered, dressed, and rushed out the door.

As I arrived at the office, I was about to silence my phone for a meeting when it started ringing. It was William.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, noticing the strain in his voice.

"Ed... I need to talk to you. It's important," he said, sounding worried.

"Is everything okay? You can tell me."

"No... we need to talk in person. Not over the phone."

"I've got a meeting now, but we'll be meeting up by this evening, but are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine and still at work. I'll see you later," William replied, his voice still heavy with concern.

I hung up the call and went into the meeting, but I couldn't stop thinking about him. Something was wrong. I could feel it.

The Tragic News

After the meeting, I was heading back to my office with Miss Wen when we overheard a news report on the TV in the hallway.

"Tragedy has once again struck a family, though this time it wasn't the Thompsons. The John household was filled with cries of sorrow today as news spread that a young member of the John family had perished in a fire. The victim, William, had been living independently in his apartment when the fire broke out..."

I didn't hear the rest.

No.

My heart stopped. I ran out of the building, fumbling for my phone. I saw several missed calls but ignored them. Instead, I dialed Amelia's number.

"Amelia... what's going on? Is this true? Is William really...?" I stammered, barely able to speak.

"Yes, Ed. I'm at the hospital. Come quickly," she said, her voice filled with grief.

No, this couldn't be happening. Not William. He couldn't be gone. He just couldn't.