Classic Novel
Chapter 114
114 Gut Feelings (Winona)
The next day, I'm feeling better. The visit with Abby was amazing. She even sipped a little milk. She'll be back home before we know it. Maybe today will be a good day. Phillip is still in bed, resting his sore head, no doubt.
Gordon and I are in the private office. He's sipping a coffee, looking more animated than usual. His eyes gleam with a certain excitement that makes me both hopeful and anxious.
"Alright, Gordon," I say, settling into the chair opposite him. "Spill. How did last night go?"This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
Gordon leans back, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. "Last night was... enlightening, to say the least."
"Yeah, exciting stuff watching men guzzle beer and shots." I'm still a little surprised still that Gordon and Jayden's lawyer, Daniel, were involved in this.
I mean, I know they're human, but it strikes me as a little odd all the same. They are supremely professional men at the top of their game.
"The real purpose of me going out with them was to get a read on Jayden and his stance with Ashlyn. And while Jayden didn't say it directly, and we didn't discuss the case outright, I gleaned quite a bit." Gordon says with a close-lipped smile.
"I knew it! I knew you weren't going for bro code." I say smugly, pleased some men are actually above it. I raise an eyebrow, leaning forward. "And? What did you find out?"
"Jayden's heart isn't with Ashlyn," Gordon says firmly.
"He's playing a game, and it's clear his feelings are elsewhere. His mind is torn, probably between his duty and his true emotions. And, Winona, I think those emotions are still tied to you. Reading between the lines, I think he was hoping for a confession from Ashlyn as well."
My heart skips a beat, a mix of anger and longing swirling within me. But at the end of the day, he still didn't trust me enough to tell me that himself.
Instead, he cruelly and heartlessly crushed me.
"Winona, I know you were under a lot of stress that day but was there anyone you can remember who may have been close enough to hear what Ashlyn said to you?"
"I'll never forgive myself for not setting my phone on record."
"We have a lot of recordings. But her voice is muffled. She knew to keep it that way. I want to go over the ones we have. It might trigger a memory for you." "You mean, find another witness?"
"Perhaps or some footage we haven't identified yet that could have better audio. If we can get those words coming out of her mouth, we've got her."
1 clench my fists, a wave of conflicting emotions crashing over me. "I want to be hopeful, Gordon, but every time I think we're getting somewhere, it all falls apart."
114 Gut Feelings
"But this is a process of elimination. We want to clear your name, get you acquitted. We need to place reasonable doubt in the judge's mind at least."
"The trouble is, I wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind at that time anyway. After all that happened with Bobby, Sarah and my father taking Abby."
is
"The kids told us the whole story. Actually backed up everything your father said. What they say paramount to your case. But given your anger towards Ashlyn and her losing the baby in the fall, and the way it looks, the judge could easily convict you." "Thanks for that."
He smiles. "That was a bit harsh. Sorry. I'm like that when I brainstorm."
"Is that what we're doing?"
He nods. "Sometimes the answer is so plain no one can see it."
"How do you do this, day after day, case after case? How do you get to the truth of such complicated matters, especially when people are so willing to lie for their own gain?"
"I go with my gut. Sounds cliché but it works. This case seems like a neat little package but something about it just feels off. It's too neat."
He gets up and paces a little. "Winona, out of everything about these people, most of which you've known for a good part of your life... What about all of this strikes you as odd?" "What do you mean?"
"When you think of what you know of these people, or maybe focus on Ashlyn for now. What about all of this seems out of character or against the grain for Ashlyn?"
I think about what he's saying. "Like, what is in my gut about what she's doing now?"
"Yes. Anything at all that you didn't expect from her. Even something that seems insignificant."
My mind goes over everything. Like it hasn't done that a million times already. But what about this really surprises me about Ashlyn?
"There is something that keeps bothering me."
"Go ahead."
"Being pregnant was what Ashlyn needed. Not that she wants kids but because this was the only way she could see to keep Jayden or win him back or whatever "Right."
"Especially once Jayden found out about Abby being his daughter. It was really the only hope she had, along with convincing him 1 was unstable. She wanted to make a happy family with them and Abby, along. with the new baby." see. Yes, that makes sense."
"This kept Judy on board as well, because she's always wanted me away from Jayden and she'd love nothing better than to separate me and Abby."
114 Gut Feelings.
"Okay. So Ashlyn's objective was to keep Jayden and make a family with him. That's why he married her."
"Yes, Jayden and I had decided that it would be in the kids best interests if he married Ashlyn and Phillip stayed as Abby's father. That we could somehow navigate co-parenting in a blended family environment." "Right, but that wasn't acceptable to Ashlyn."
"No, now that she was pregnant and she knew it was Jayden's baby, she wanted it all for herself. She believed he would love her as the mother of his child, no matter what. My father's involvement was to make me look like an unfit mother."
Gordon looks at me now like the penny has dropped. "Exactly. And the main question the judge will look to answer is the basis of the whole case against you. Why would Ashlyn risk the life of the baby that means everything to her end game?" "I know right? Unless she thought she was losing the baby anyway, or she had already lost it."
Gordon jumps up. "Nailed it! Now we just have to prove it. Or at the very least, create reasonable doubt."
115 Doubt is a k