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Joey jumps out of his chair in the witness stand and yells, “You fucking bitch!”

I roll my eyes.

Haven’t heard that one before.

He starts to move in my direction. Everyone around us moves to stop him. I take a stance to fight him off. But it’s Aiden who appears in front of me, grabbing Joey by the throat. The room goes silent, watching the exchange between two people who used to be close friends.

Aiden brings Joey’s face close to his. Aiden’s face is frigid as he says, “Touch her. I fucking dare you to lay a single finger on her. I’ll make you wish you could die again.” It’s probably not the best idea to threaten someone while we are still in court. However, considering the circumstances, it is understandable. Joey struggles against his hold with no avail. Aiden finally throws him on the ground.

Joey holds his throat, gasping for air. Aiden leans down with a humorless grin. “I hope you rot in Hell for the rest of eternity.” He pauses, then shakes his head sadly. “I was your best friend Joey, and you set me up.”

Joey coughs out, “I didn’t know they were going to punish you by removing you as a reaper. I thought they would’ve just demoted you.”

I chuckle. “Ah, but when you found out he was going to be removed as a reaper, you still said nothing.” He could’ve stopped this madness at any point. But he didn’t. He was going to let Aiden suffer.

The judge taps the gravel to get our attention. We all turn to him. “The charges against Aiden Kim will be dropped. Mr. Gomez, you will be detained until your trial.” Two reapers grab Joey, and he struggles against their hold.

He sneers. “You’ll pay for this, Joyce! If you think this is it, you are wrong.”

Why is it that people blame me for the stuff they do? For example, the client who killed me. I didn’t tell him to murder someone. Just like how I didn’t tell Joey to frame Aiden. But yes, let’s blame the person who had nothing to do with it. I’m just doing my job, which is being a kickass lawyer. As I’ve said before, being a lawyer means everyone is mad at you. All the time.

I smirk at Joey as he is being pulled away and mockingly say, “I guess you’ll be representing yourself, huh.” Because it sure as hell won’t be me. He snarls in response.

Once Joey is gone, Aiden turns to me with gentle eyes. “Baby—”

I cross my arms and look at Aiden, my face void of all emotions. “No. I am no longer your baby. I am your attorney—actually, I was your attorney, but my job is now done. Which means I am leaving. There is nothing left to say.”

Aiden opens his mouth, but reapers from the audience walk over to congratulate us and invite us out for drinks. Gabriel ends up giving me a lift to the bar. When I arrive, I take a seat by the bar and order an old-fashioned, top shelf. I take a healthy gulp, needing to drink away my thoughts. I examine my drink and internally sigh, realizing I ordered Aiden’s favorite drink. Before I can continue to drown in self-pity, I feel someone place a hand on my shoulder. I look up to see Yirah smiling at me.

“I heard you did amazing. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there,” she says as she takes a seat next to me.

I wave my hand dismissively. “Honestly, it was our conversation from last night. What you said helped me put together the pieces.”

“No, Joy Joy. That was all you.” She smiles and waves down the bartender. I’m still wearing my suit, so I take off the jacket and hang it on the back of my chair. The bartender comes over and takes Yirah’s order, flirting with her as he takes it.

I glance around the room and notice Aiden talking with a group of Collection reapers who he used to supervise before being charged. He turns his head in my direction and I divert my eyes, feeling a burning sensation in my chest, but I ignore it.

As I am turning in my chair to face forward, Taevian steps into view. He walks up to me cautiously, as if worried about my potential reaction. I turn to distract myself with Yirah, but the traitor is nowhere to be seen.

Taevian walks up to me, staying two feet away. “Can we talk outside, Joyce?” he gently asks. I wish I could say when I look at him, I feel anger. But all I feel is an extreme sense of hope.

Contemplating it for a moment, I inevitably nod my head. “You have five minutes,” I inform him.

He nods and gestures for me to go first. I slide off the bar chair and turn my head in Aiden’s direction again. He is listening to another reaper talk, but he is looking intensely at me. I break eye contact and walk towards the door, Taevian in tow. We step outside and into New York’s heat.

I turn to look at Taevian and we just stare at each other for a moment. Finally, Taevian breaks the silence. “Joyce. I am so sorry you found out the way you did.”

I cross my arms. “But not sorry that you didn’t tell me?”

He sighs. “You don’t understand. I couldn’t.”

“Explain it to me, then,” I demand. Did he expect me to accept an apology without an explanation of why he wouldn’t tell me he is my father?

He runs his hand down his face in frustration. “When your mother was pregnant with you, I was walking with her. We had just come from the farmer’s market. During her pregnancy, she only ate organic food. She was so careful because she loved you so much, already. As we were crossing the street, a car ran the light and was heading straight for us. There was no time for both her and I to get out of the way, so I shoved her at the last minute. She only got slightly clipped in the foot. But I…I died, Joyce. Right there on the street. Your mother witnessed the whole thing.” My eyes widen. That must have been horrible for her.

He continues, “I have been watching you your whole life since the day you were born. I was there when you came into the world, and I was broken into pieces when your mother left you on the steps of the firehouse. But she was broken, too. There was nothing I could do but make sure you were safe from there on.”

He takes a step closer. I notice his eyes swell up as he grabs my hand. “I wanted nothing more than to be your dad when I found out your mother was pregnant. I was also in foster care as a kid, but I was adopted. I’m sorry you had to live in the system your whole life. You’re everything to me, Joyce, even if I am nothing to you.”