Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 27: Chapter 27

"How dare you slander Dylan? You're looking for trouble, huh?" Ruby snarled, lunging forward and yanking Nancy by the hair.
Nancy said defiantly, "Don't believe me? Ask Julian yourself. He knows about it!"
"Besides," Nancy added, pulling Ruby's hair, "since he returned this month, he's already spent over 300 thousand dollars just to grease palms. Who knows how much more he'll have to fork out?
"Elara, you're so greedy. You even made him buy you a house and put only your name on the deed. You're so selfish and shameless!"
Nancy and Ruby were locked in a fierce fight on the floor, and the shop staff were trying to pull them apart. The few customers in the shop quickly fled in panic.
Elara stood frozen, anxiety gnawing at her. She thought, 'I still don't get it. Why does Alex have to wait until his dad's case is over before making our relationship official? If it's just a civil dispute, shouldn't it be settled soon? Why the wait?
'If Dylan is really caught up in a criminal case with his life on the line, it makes sense why Alex wouldn't want to talk about our relationship right now. That explains everything. Maybe Dylan's case is way more complicated than he lets on.'
"Why did he have to spend so much greasing palms?" Elara asked.
"Well, looks like you two know nothing at all," Nancy sneered. "And you still have the nerve to call yourselves Alex's best friends?"
"Spit it out!" Ruby demanded, prying Nancy's mouth to make her talk.
Nancy said, "The principal of Veritasiton Middle School is Stephen Heaton. The Heaton family is one of the four great families in Veritasiton. They are old allies of the Hartley family. So tell me, which of you could possibly help Alex?
"He's been back in Veritasiton for a month, hitting up every law firm in town and even the new ones. But no one's willing to take his case."
"Still, no one's going to help?" Elara gasped.
Nancy spat, "Of course, no! We tried to meet Adrian, waiting outside the Aurora Club for over three hours in the icy wind.
"Meanwhile, you were inside, drinking with Adrian and his friends. You knew him, but instead of helping Alex, you messed around with Adrian in the private room!"
"Messing around?" Elara said, her mind spinning.
"Don't play innocent!" Nancy sneered. "We saw the surveillance footage. You and Adrian were all over each other in that empty VIP room, kissing and groping. You were clearly messing around with him."
She added, "We were there begging Adrian for help, but Alex ended up punching him because of you!"
Elara asked, "But he didn't actually land the punch on Adrian, did he?"
"Only because Victor blocked it!" Nancy snapped. "If Alex had landed that punch, do you think he'd still keep his job at Hartley Group?"
Ruby and Elara were silent for a moment. Though they knew Nancy had embellished the story, they were aware that Alex had thrown a punch. They just didn't know what really went down behind the scenes.
Nancy said, "After all that effort, Adrian finally agreed to help Alex, but Alex turned him down because of you! No one but Adrian can help with Dylan's case. Honestly, you three should just stay away from Alex. Sooner or later, you'll drag him down."
With that, Nancy turned around and stormed off.
Elara wasn't in the mood to argue. She ran a hand through her stiff, dry hair, a strange tightness creeping into her chest. 'Why didn't Alex tell me? Why does he act so carefree around me? Nancy knows everything, but what about me?' she wondered.
"Who knows if Nancy's even telling the truth?" Ruby muttered, frowning and sitting down. She was clearly unsettled by Nancy's words.
Suddenly, Julian's message popped up in the group chat. [I'm done with work. Where's that report you were supposed to send to the group?]
"Julian!" Elara and Ruby blurted out in unison.
Half an hour later, after urgent calls from Elara and Ruby, Julian's white Koenigsegg pulled up in the courtyard of Tiffany Café.
Elara had just returned from the barbershop across the street. Her hair was still damp from the wash when she saw Julian step out of his car.
She glanced at the Koenigsegg. Her eyes lit up for a split second before the spark faded just as quickly.
The world's fastest car, Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut, with a top speed of 330 miles per hour, had been Elara's dream car back in high school.
Julian spotted her, tossed the keys toward Elara, and said, "Take it for a spin."
Elara instinctively caught the keys. 'He lent me such an expensive car just like that?' she thought.
She caught up with him and tossed the keys to him. "Take it. This car's worth more than my life!"
Julian shrugged. "Not a fan? So, are you into a different model?"
"No, I gave up racing cars a long time ago," Elara replied.
Once inside the café, Julian found himself shoved into a chair. Elara and Ruby loomed over him, their arms crossed and eyes blazing. They seemed ready to skin him alive.
"What are you guys doing?" Julian asked.
"Traitor!" Ruby spat out first.
"How the hell am I a traitor?" Julian asked.
Ruby demanded, "Dylan still hasn't found a lawyer for his case, has he?"
Julian suspected they were trying to trick him, so he put on his most clueless face and scratched his head. "Yeah, what's wrong?" he replied, feigning innocence.
"Julian, you always scratch your head when you lie," Elara said. All those psych classes finally paid off.
'Well, it seems like the word's gotten out somehow,' Julian thought.
Julian took a sip of his freshly served coffee and asked, "Who told you that?"
"Julian, you're such a terrible friend. Nancy's way better than you!" Ruby shot him a fierce glare, practically ready to strangle him.
"Well, Alex told me not to tell you guys," Julian explained.
"Why?" Elara demanded, her voice trembling with anger.
She thought, 'If everything Nancy said was true, then after all the tantrums I threw, making Alex buy that apartment and put only my name on the deed, I must've been the worst person alive.
'But why didn't he just tell me? Why did he let me keep acting like that?'
"Even if I told you, it wouldn't help. With your personalities, you two would probably make things worse," Julian declared.
Elara pointed at herself in disbelief. "Us? Cause trouble? What's so wrong with the way we are? Are Ruby and I really that unreliable?"
"Alex didn't want you to worry. Besides, Dylan was set up by the Heaton family. They made him look bad. Alex's got his pride to maintain," Julian said.
"Wait. So everything Nancy said was true?" Elara asked.
"What exactly did she say?" Julian said.
"She said no one would take Dylan's case. Alex had been groveling, pulling every string, and spending over 300 thousand dollars, but he still couldn't find a lawyer. Dylan is accused of murder," Elara replied.
Julian explained, "Dylan swears he didn't kill anyone. If he really had, Alex wouldn't be throwing money at this.
"Dylan said Stephen caught his wife cheating and they fought in the office. Dylan was there to get a financial document signed and walked in on them."
"How outrageous!" Elara gasped, her chest tightening with anger. "So, any updates?"
Julian said, "Alex will go to Marisiton this weekend to see if he can find a lawyer there. The Heaton family only has real power in Veritasiton, so if a lawyer from Marisiton is willing to take the case, there might still be a shot."
Elara's fingers curled tightly into her palms. "But even if a lawyer from Marisiton is willing to take the case, all they can do is represent us. The trial will still be held in Veritasiton, and the odds of winning are slim to none."
"Yeah, Alex thought about that, too. But in Veritasiton, no one but the Hartley family can take on the Heaton family," Julian declared.
He added, "Alex had asked Nancy to arrange an introduction to Adrian. But as luck would have it, I ended up punching Adrian that day. He got so mad that he started spreading malicious rumors about you. Alex couldn't hold back from hitting him, so—"
At that, Ruby's eyes widened in shock. "Spreading malicious rumors? What exactly did he say about Elara?"
"Adrian spread rumors that Elara stripped naked and threw herself at him—" Julian replied.
Elara abruptly cut Julian off. "I'll go find him."
Ruby grabbed her arm. "Who? Adrian?"
Elara rolled her eyes. "I'm looking for Alex."
Julian quickly stepped in to stop her. "What do you want with him? You want to grill him about why he kept you in the dark and then pick a fight?"
He advised, "Honestly, Alex has been exhausted lately. If you can't help, don't bother him. Also, I think it's best if you two just pretend you don't know about this. You know how proud he is."
Elara's fingers went slack, and her bag slipped from her grasp, hitting the floor. She collapsed back into her seat. Nancy's words echoed relentlessly in her mind.
She remembered Nancy saying, "You three are nothing but clingy brats. His dad's been locked up for a month, and you still think it's just a minor case?
"Since he returned this month, he's already spent over 300 thousand dollars just to grease palms. Who knows how much more he'll have to fork out?
"Elara, you're so greedy! You even made him buy you a house and put only your name on the deed. You're so selfish and shameless!
"We tried to meet Adrian, waiting outside the Aurora Club for over three hours in the icy wind. Meanwhile, you were inside, drinking with Adrian and his friends. You knew him, but instead of helping Alex, you messed around with Adrian in the private room!"
Elara remembered how bitterly cold it was that day. Alex was wearing a thin shirt back then, looking so haggard.
'Why didn't he tell me?' Elara wondered, 'I could've used that Twitter incident to pressure Adrian into taking on this case.' After some thought, she grabbed her bag, ready to leave.
Ruby grabbed her arm again. "Elara, Julian's right. Let's not bother Alex now. Figure out how to help him first."
Elara said, "I'll go meet Adrian myself."