174. What Do We Do?

"Mom, I couldn't have told you about my speculations without tangible proof. By law, you know that that information was not credible. Everyone would have laughed at me if I presented that idea for it would have been deemed slanderous "

"Did it not come to pass? It could have been prevented!"

"Mother..."

"Do not mother me! You made an error in judgement! I should have been the first person you sought advice from of your hypothesis and not your fated!"

"Nelnel didn't advice me at all. I merely shared my speculations with him and that was it. In fact, it was through his help that we deduced the true nature of Mora's father's lover."

"He made a fool of me! These many months, he acted like a dimwit..." Banging her fist onto her desk, Elric's mother swore under her breath.

"Mom keep it down. We have guests!"

"My anger should be the least of your worries! That man escaped! Elric! He is a wanted criminal!"

"There's nowhere for them to hide...!"

"Get out of my sight. I can't talk to you right now."

"Mom you would have done the same thing if you were in my shoes! Speculation without conclusive evidence discredits my reputation as a lawyer which will extend to the image of the firm! I couldn't do it mother, I had to wait until they made a mistake. I believed they wouldn't have managed to pull off such a stunt in the first place..."

"But they did! They did Elric and now every dog that thinks they know the law is barking at my doorstep! I can barely go to my office right now because of you!"

"That guy would have been branded the hero mom come on! The image they both have as fugitives makes them targets. Okay, fine, they escaped to who knows where but they won't have peace wherever they go. Someone is bound to spot them! They can't leave the country either."

"He escaped maximum security you fool! I warned you against becoming complaisant just because everyone is applauding you for your skills in the practice of law!"

"I wasn't being complaisant mom, I was being careful! We are involved in this case personally whether we like it or not! Hajin, the son of the accused, the only free person from that family is living with one of our clients mom and your business partners! You invested in their fitness facility did you not? Think about Mora and how she tricked us all, handing to us evidence that would later jeopardize the credibility and reputation of our firm! We are lucky her father hasn't sued us for anything so far, which explains why he has been quiet all this time!"

"He threatened my family!"

"We can't live in fear mom otherwise we loose our rationality..."

"I am not afraid. I am frightened beyond your imagination. The horrors...the things I've heard that man do to his enemies... He will came after you to get to me! You are my only child son, my flesh and blood... If anything were to happen to you..."

"Nothing will happen to me mom or any of us. That man seeks freedom from everything, and companionship. It may be another speculation but it could also be true just as his planning an escape was. If I'd mentioned that idea in court..."

"You would have been viewed prospective accomplice. "

"Exactly. We are already involved too much into their private family matters which is too late to get out from. If we get further involved, or accused of being suggestive in the defendant's favor..."

"Enough." Elric's mother raised her palm interrupting her son from speaking further. "I've heard enough. How we choose to rise up from this is what's important. What is your hypothesis on the matter?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Speak."

"I believe this plan began years ago. It was only a mater of time before everyone found out. The plan must have been in motion when Yeon was first attacked. I'm convinced even his daughter was just a pawn and now that all is in the open, she has been thrown away like a broken toy that can't be fixed. All this time, Hajin must have been his target, the things his son went through were probably precedented."

"Mora is still a loose end to them."

"Her father must have known she would fall thereby allowing it to happen. Perhaps he left his rightful assets to Hajin to ridicule his immediate family as he did by making them responsible for evading taxes, while at the same time, abandoning the daughter his family wanted so much, broken and isolated. Don't forget that neither Mora nor Hajin's statements can be considered credible, the two most important people who could have made everything clear concerning their father."

"The judge that presided over her case is known by many to be vicious and vindictive. She never minces her verdict and follows a case though and through."

"She is a no nonsense all right. Her name came up a couple of times while I was in collage."

"Personally I do not wish to be in her courtroom as experienced as I am and if I were, I'd rather be defending an actual innocent person. That woman can see right through bullshit and isn't afraid to discipline anyone in her courtroom publicly. Most of her court proceedings last barely 20minutes."

"She should have handled Mora's father's cases."

"She would have ended this entire façade a long time ago. I see it in their faces son, everyone including the jury. People believe that man a saint, labelling him a savior. Now that I think about it, he'd have been set free or given a lighter sentence eventually. The more the case progressed, everything was going in his favor so why did he choose to escape?"

"Because he is very likely to be called back for another issue. He is a repetitive offender. In the environment he was in, he could commit any crime and get away with it. The only way he could have gotten out of this vicious bloody cycle was by changing his environment, move to another place or do something completely different from what he was doing."

"Being a psychopath cripples him from escaping his ghosts. He is his own enemy. Soon, he will get caught feeding into his urges again."

"You forget he is not Mora. He can control his urges and camouflage very well, a man of many faces."

A knock on the door startled them both and Elric went to open it, surprised to find Hajin, a look of confusion on him.

"What is it? " Elric's mother asked.

"I got a text message from an unknown number. I think it's my father."

"What does it say?"

"Don't look for me and live a normal life. If you need me, I will come find you."

"He is watching us?" Elric's mother asked in panic.

"I don't know, but this was normally his way of communicating when I was a child." Looking from his phone and back at Elric and his mother, Hajin apologized before making them aware everyone outside could listen to their disagreement. "I believe Elric to be right. He is cutting ties with me, my fathers that is."

"But your father has never treated you kindly."

"I don't think the message is from the father you're both thinking, rather, my father's lover. Earlier on, he wanted to build a relationship with me but after meeting him a few times, I had to stop once Princess was born. He didn't attempt to contact me afterwards which I found quite surprising. Perhaps it was because of what Elric was saying. I'm afraid that your speculations may be factual for all this time, he had always known which side he was on. All of us were just too oblivious to think he'd see his husband for who he is."

"I will never understand their relationship." Elric's mother murmured.

"They have a codependency to each other." Elric added. "One that isn't for us to comprehend."

"But how did they escape? They must have gotten help..." Hajin asked.

"They infiltrated the guards, dressing up as them. About four guards are also missing, their ID's untraceable. If you put two and two together, it was all a matter of timing. His verdict was to be given tomorrow, the time when everyone is excited for the final result. An investigation is already underway but there is no communication so far from the police, no press release or statement revealed. I think we know why."

"My father is not an easy person to bring down madam." Hajin spoke after a brief silence. "Additionally, this may not be the last message from him. He will keep his distance that's for sure, but he will be watching from a far. This may be his way of dominance. As long as he is in control, he looses nothing. The fact that he is out there, watching everything puts fear in his enemies' minds and he feeds off of that fear. Like Elric had said, this is all just a game to him."

"He is making a mockery of the justice system!" Elric's mother exclaimed in anger. "How many months has it been so far that we've gone back and forth with all his cases? I'm I to continue making bodyguards a requirement for everyone as long as he is still alive and free? Yeon and Stannie's wedding will take place in a few days..." Looking at Hajin, Elric's mother took a deep breath and carefully thought her words through. "Young man, I need to know exactly when he contacted you with that message."

"Not long ago. That was why I came with Princess and her grandparents. I was afraid at first but Mijin's parents seem relaxed that all will go well. After all, they where there when my father's side of the family paid me a visit to threaten me but after seeing them praising my father at the stand, he must have them at the palm of their hands and knowing him, if he really wanted to cause us any harm, he would have already done so since growing up, he was someone who hated wasting time. He'd rather rid himself off a problem especially if he didn't find it worth his time."

"Earlier on when the case was still under my firm, I questioned some of his business associates and they said the same thing too..."

"If that is the case then," Elric cut in. "All of us were his pawns. He used our firm without hiring us, our reputation to attract a larger audience. Mom, you too, your experience and family background in the field of law. He wanted a spectacle and we gave him exactly that. He simply let us do our job until they were ready to make their move."

"So that was why he smiled that day." Elric's mother said, remembering sitting through one of Mora's father's hearing and just before the investigative journalist approached her, she'd spotted the sight of him, acknowledging her presence with a nod and a sneer. "Let's hope you are right, however do not remain complaisant. With his disappearance, all eyes are now on you Hajin. I can't promise you an easy life but in due time, a new story will surface and eventually, you'll be long forgotten."