Chapter 1098: Chapter 1101

Chapter 1101 “Ms. Tina Hampton, the lawyer, is waiting for you inside, Mrs. Ford. You can go on ahead.

I‘ll be right here, on guard. If there‘s any problem, you can call for me.”

Stella nodded and walked inside.

The office was a suburban studio. Because it was very secluded, there was no worry about nosy eavesdroppers or getting followed.

As Stella pushed the door open, she saw Tina Hampton sitting in front of her computer, perusing through the files.

Hearing the noise, she turned around and glanced at Stella.

“You‘re here already?”

“Yes,” Stella responded and walked in before taking a seat in front of Tina.

“Mr. Ford has probably informed you that we have an urgent task today,” Tina bluntly told her. “So I really need you to cooperate with me.”

Stella nodded.

“It looks like you‘re very calm about it all,” observed Tina with a frown when she noticed how Stella had been compliant and obliging without raising any objections .

At the very least, she seemed much calmer than when she last saw her at the detention center.

“Have you accepted the reality of your situation?” Tina asked.

Stella smiled almost imperceptibly, looking resigned but also cooperative at the same time.

“What could I do even if I can‘t accept it?” she replied.” He‘ll find a million ways to make me accept it eventually.”

Tina nodded and went straight to the point.

“So this is the current situation,” she explained. “Mr. Warren Ford and the Cohen family have acquired watertight evidence against you, which means that we might not be able to fully exonerate you at this point. If we try that, the probability of success is very low, and it would take up too much time. This would be disastrous for your future, so we‘ve decided that the best plan is for you to confess that you‘ve accidentally killed Zachary Ford, and it‘s never been your intention. In fact, you didn‘t even have any idea that oleanders were highly poisonous. In other words, you must insist, without a flinch, that you are ignorant of the fact that oleanders are harmful or toxic. This is the only way that we can minimize your sentence as much as possible. If the sentencing is light enough, Mr. Ford can then easily find a way to release you on bail.”

“So you‘ve all made up your mind?” Stella asked, her face drained of color.

“Yes,” replied Tina. “All the preparations are done.”

Seeing that Stella looked a little unsure, she sighed and tried to convince her, saying, “To tell you the truth, your case is an extremely difficult one. The fact that all the lawyers working for the other side are the cream of the crop isn‘t helpful either. If we go by the original plan, there‘s simply no way we‘d win this case, and you‘d end up in prison, so why not change the strategy instead? They‘d never expect you to confess to the murder. Besides, if you insist on being ignorant about the poisonous nature of oleanders, they‘d have no way of proving that it was a premeditated murder, so…”

“I understand,” Stella gently cut her off.

Tina stared at her and continued, “If you have no objections, we‘ll start discussing the next steps. I will explain in detail what will happen on the day of the trial. Then, I‘ll simulate the questioning you might receive from the prosecution. We‘ll try to anticipate everything that might happen on that day so you‘ll be perfectly prepared when the time comes.”

“Okay,” Stella responded.

Tina nodded, “Then I‘ll call in my assistant now.”

She then turned towards a closed door and yelled, “Okay, you can come out now!”

The door was pushed open. Stella turned towards it, and shock was written all over her face when she recognized who it was.

“Professor Hall? What are you doing here...?”

Justin Hall walked out holding a thick stack of documents.

“It‘s been so long since we last met, Stella.”

Tina glanced at the two of them and stood up.

“I have some backup documents to prepare,” she said.“ I‘ll leave you two to it.”

After speaking, she walked straight out of the room, leaving only Stella and Justin inside.

Stella was about to stand up too. She was confused and a little awkward.

“What exactly is going on here...?” she asked.

“Don‘t worry,” Justin assured her. “Please sit down.”

He then walked up to her with a smile and explained , ” It‘s just as Tina told you – I’m her assistant right now, and I‘m here to help you with the whole process. Don‘t be nervous. I assure you that I have no other intentions.”

The corners of Stella‘s mouth twitched, and she smiled, saying, “I wasn‘t thinking about that. I was just a little surprised...”

“Really?” Justin opened the file in his hands and handed Stella a pen, followed by some notes. “I thought we’d never see each other again, you know.” “Me too,” Stella nodded. “So much has happened since then.”

She took the pen and paper from Justin and asked, “Are these for me to take down some notes?” “That‘s right. You might need to write down the most important points so you can carefully review them when you go home. It is important that you try your best to appear as natural as possible during the trial.”

Next Chapter