Ace Attorney: Secrets beneath Secrets

Turnabout Below, Part 9

May 30

Blocker Law Offices

3:00 PM

Anton Burke

I followed Ghastly and Niamh away from the main area where all of the chaos was. I swallowed nervously as it left my line of sight. I didn't like how cramped it was over there. It made me feel lightheaded and sick. Hopefully, I wouldn't need to go back there anytime soon.

I knew I had to go there if I wanted to help Polly get out of jail, but that didn't make me feel any better about it. In fact, it only made me feel more sick to think about, and I wanted to ignore the existence of the agency as a whole. I was just glad I had Ghastly there with me to help keep me calm. I might have started crying if not for him.

I let out a gasp once we rounded the corner around the side of the building. I could see Cotoli and one of his friends there! I think Chrysalis had told me her name was Victoria, but I didn't want to step over any boundaries by calling her by her first name when we barely knew each other, so I forced myself to recall her last name. Eventually, I figured out that it was von Graye, and I nodded to myself just before dashing up to greet Cotoli. "Daddy!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him in a tight hug. I smiled in delight when he returned the gesture, a small giggle leaving my lips.

Ms. von Graye looked at me in shock, and she turned her attention to Cotoli a few seconds later. He chuckled before explaining. "I've been dating his adopted mother, who also happens to be our client, for a while. He took to calling me that a few months into our relationship, and it just kind of stuck from there," he told her.

Ms. von Graye nodded her understanding before looking back to me. "You seem rather sweet..." she murmured.

I pulled away from Cotoli as Niamh and Ghastly walked up behind me. "Do you think you'll be able to help Mommy out of prison soon?" I asked him, praying with all I had that he answered with yes. I missed her a lot, and I didn't want her to be alone any longer.

Cotoli smiled and held my hand gently. "I'm doing all I can to help her out. She won't be in there for too much longer, and after I'm finished, she'll be able to come back home. After that, we can all relax like how we usually do," he assured me.

Ghastly nudged Ms. von Graye lightly. "Cotoli's pretty good at hiding his private life, huh? Judging by that look on  your face, you didn't hear about this in detail, if at all, until just now," Ghastly said. He laughed to himself and shook his head. "You wouldn't believe how good he is at hiding stuff like that. He's always been the type to keep it professional no matter the circumstances..."

"You got that one right... I had no idea this was a thing... Granted, I'm sure the others at the agency are aware of this since they've been around him longer, but... Wow. Who would have guessed?" Ms. von Graye remarked, laughing nervously. "Anyways, what brings you here?"

"We just got here a few minutes ago. We weren't sure if braving the crowds would be a good idea, and lucky for us, we didn't need to. Detective Erikson found us and said you were waiting out back. Thank goodness for that one. I did not want to have to deal with all of those people. I can barely tolerate being in a room with five, much less what looks like fifty plus the added bulk of cameras," Ghastly answered.

"H-He said you wanted to talk to us about something... Is that true?" Niamh asked, looking up to Cotoli.

I pulled away from hugging him and instead stood at his side as he gave her a response. "That is correct, yes. We were curious about Marcus Moore... We learned a bit more about him just before Detective Erikson left to find you, and we were wondering if we could compare that information with what you told us in court today. Asking if you knew more wouldn't hurt in the slightest either," Cotoli explained.