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Epilogue

10 Years Later

I heard the click of heels against the tiled floor as my secretary, Linda Jones, appeared in the doorway of my office. "Ms. Brown, a client is here to see you."

I didn't even look up from where I was: kneeling in front of one of my many filing cabinets rifling through papers. "Send them in."

The clicking sounds retreated down the hallway, and I resumed my task of reading through information for the latest case I was working on. Despite many years of indecisiveness and wondering if I was wasting my time pursuing a career I could never succeed in, I was now a well-regarded criminal lawyer for my age. 27 was young in the law field, and many of my co-workers said I had a promising, albeit stressful, career ahead of me. I was content with that, however. I had dealt with plenty of stress in the past.

I stood up from my uncomfortable position and settled back into my office chair. Logging into my computer, I tapped my fingers impatiently as I waited for my files to load. Keeping people out of jail was my specialty, and it wasn't about to end with this case.

A soft knock at the door forced me to look up. I did a double take as I took in who was standing nervously outside the door frame, shifting from foot to foot. "Ivory?" I gasped aloud.

"Hey," she said, and took a hesitant step into the office.

Out of all the clients I had been thinking of seeing today, my high school best friend had never crossed my mind. I jumped up from my desk and shut the door behind her, then gestured to the chair in front of my desk. "Take a seat. It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has." Her eyes remained focused on her shoes, and I couldn't help but notice that she hadn't changed much since the last time I saw her, the summer after graduation. Her hair was still long and dark, and she still had that innocent look to her that concealed who she really was. She sat there in stark contrast to me and my blonde hair that I now highlighted constantly to conceal the greys that were already appearing due to stress and kept in a neat bun. I could feel my body stiffen due to the uncomfortable situation I was in.

"So, what brings you here?" I asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Did you see Sacha in that new movie?" She blurted, clearly trying to make small talk before we got to the real issue.

I nodded. Sacha had gone on to sign with an agent after high school, and had recently starred in a big Hollywood movie. "I'm not surprised. She always was a good faker-" I coughed. "Sorry, I mean actress."

Ivory laughed. "That's true." Another awkward pause passed. "Have you talked to Aubrey or Hailee recently?"

I thought it was weird Ivory would assume I would keep in contact with some of my frenemies from high school and not her. She had been my best friend, and while memories with her often floated through my mind, Hailee and Aubrey were long gone. "No, but Hailee did invite me to her wedding last year. I wanted to go, but I had a big case that day that I couldn't miss. I got the pictures though, and Jack and her looked so cute."

"She married Jack?" Ivory gasped. "The ignorant footballer player?"

"I know right!?"

"That's crazy." Ivory shook her head in disbelief, then her expression slowly dimmed. "So here's the thing... I kind of need your help."

"Of course, Ivory. What can I do?" I asked, feeling an overwhelming rush of remorse for our friendship.

"You remember J, right? Javier?"

"How could I forget?"

Ivory sighed. "Well, I'm in the middle of a custody battle with him right now, and..."