Xavier~
"No, I don't know her." I shook my head after much deliberation.
I know Jordan's ruthlessness, so I don't want her to become involved in this case any further. Meeting Jordan Lucas could potentially put her life in danger.
"Mr. Thompson, could you please explain why you are misleading him? Officer, please allow me to meet Jordan; I am Xavier's lawyer." She requested that we meet Jordan.
"Sorry, Miss, I can't allow you to meet him until Xavier accepts you as his lawyer." My friend Denial supported my decision.
If I discover the true reason for her visit to the old jail cell, I will not bring her here with me. It's true that last night I desperately wanted her to accompany me to the old prison, but knowing that she came here after leaving her son alone at her house, who was also in a sick condition, makes me feel guilty about telling her about my visit to Jordan.
How could she be so stupid that she left her son to meet Jordan? Does she genuinely believe that this case holds such significance? Despite not having any relationship with her son, I still feel a strange connection with him, even when I don't see him. I had to send Bella back to the city for his sake.
"If you don't take me to the visitor cell with you, Mr. Thompson, I'll tell the world that you met criminals covertly by taking advantage of your friends' connections." She threatened me. Denial looked at me with fear-filled eyes after hearing Bella's threat.
"Miss Luis, please understand that it's not safe for you to meet Jordan." I gently attempted to persuade her.
"I am ready to take any risk; please let me meet Jordan." She stubbornly stared at my face.
Why doesn't she realize how serious the issue is? I let out a heavy, defeated sigh.
"Okay, you can see him, but no matter what he says to me, you have to promise to keep your distance and not cut me off from our conversation."
"Xavier, I can't promise you anything, but as your lawyer, I have every right to question him." She argued with me.
She set certain professional boundaries for me, but she was so eager to meet Jordan that she overlooked them. The sound of my name coming from her mouth is like a sweet melody to my ears. Why did she always make me feel so far away by referring to me as Mr. Thompson?
"No, I can not bring you with me until you promise me." I explicitly declined her request to accompany her into the visitor's cell.
"Let's go, Denial." I signaled him to go inside the visitor's cell.
"Xavier, hold on; I promise I won't bother you both. You need to ask him what I want to ask him on my behalf." She partially agreed to my promise.
"Ok, you will stand with Denial outside the visitor cell." I asked her to stand at some distance from the visitor's cell. She is not far away from the visitor's cell, so she can easily hear our conversation.
As I awaited Jordan's arrival, I was filled with conflicting emotions. It's been a long time since we crossed paths; I wasn't even fully sure that he was behind Alica's murder. Bella's suspicion prompted me to inquire about him.
"Who are you?" After entering the visitor's cell, I turned to face the man who had sat down in front of me.
"Jordan Lucas." When I noticed a different man sitting in place of Jordan Lucas, I turned my attention to Denial.
"I'd like to meet Jordan Lucas, not any other prisoner." I looked at him in irritation.
"He is Jordan Lucas, Xavier." Denial looked at the man and responded to me.
"No, there is undoubtedly a misunderstanding on your end. Perhaps more Jordans are housed in the same prison, which is why you were confused." I made an effort to rule out any possibilities.
"No, Xavier, since Jordan Lucas is the sole inmate in this prison, there isn't a mistake on our end."
"What?" My blood froze on hearing him.
"How is that even possible? I can still clearly remember his face; he is not Jordan Lucas." I closely examined the man's face, but he bore no resemblance to Jordan Lucas.
"Xavier, I have been working in this prison for the last seven years, and I saw this man in prison living as Jordan Lucas from the beginning of my posting here." Denial seems perplexed as well after listening to me.
"It's quite probable that he utilized his power to avoid going to jail and instead sent another man to serve his sentence." Bella approached us and shared her doubts about Jordan with us.
"I think you are right, Miss Luis." I nodded my head in agreement.
"Could you please show me his criminal history file, officer?" Bella requested him. Once he had my permission to show her the files, he nodded his head.
I was shocked to see that all his criminal record details had changed. Every criminal record identified the man I saw a few minutes ago as Jordan Lucas.
"What the hell is this? In what way is this even feasible? How on earth could he have fooled the whole legal system?" I raked my fingers in my hair with frustration.
"This implies that he has never been incarcerated, thereby increasing the likelihood that he killed Alicia and entangled you in her murder case." Bella carefully examined Jordan's criminal history.
"I agree with you completely, but how can we prove our claims in court?" He is currently in prison, and there is no evidence linking him to Alicia.
Why does she not understand the criticality of this case? Jordan Lucas cleverly trapped me.
"We can present these criminal records to the court, Mr. Thompson, as proof of Jordan Lucas's release from prison."
"Why do you think this is such an easy task? The same man who deceived law enforcement and the legal system at large for years can not alter these reports. For Jordan, manipulating the evidence is a relatively simple task." I let out a heavy sigh to relieve the sense of failure.
"Mr. Thompson, we will figure something out. Don't take stress." She comforted me by placing her hand on my shoulder. When I looked up into her face, I saw concern glimmering in her icy, aloof eyes.
"Come on, I'll drop you off at home." When I noticed that her phone was buzzing with her son's number, I asked her to leave the old prison cell.
"No, I will take a cab now. Thank you for your help, Mr. Thompson." She obstinately refused my assistance, but when she noticed the sudden, intense rain, she changed her heart and sat silently in the passenger seat of my car.