THE HEIR'S REVENGE

chapter 89

I looked at her message for a long time.

Just five words. 

“Hectic day wasn't it?” 

It was so simple and direct but it meant the world to me  and it was exactly the kind of thing Yemi would say. I could visibly see that she wasn't trying to overdo it or make it dramatic. All I could see was someone who was checking in on me. 

I sat on the edge of my bed and typed back.

“Yes. But it went the way it needed to go.”

She replied quickly. “That is all that matters tonight.”

I looked at those words for a moment.

Then I typed. “Thank you for being there today.”

She said, “I was always going to be there.”

It felt weird talking to her like this. I've always had face to face conversations with Yemi. I put my phone down on the bedside table and lay back on the bed still in my work clothes and looked at the ceiling.

I was there. She was always going to be there.

I did not know when exactly Yemi had become someone I depended on. I really didn't see that coming and it most likely didn't happen in one moment. She was just there, always present when I needed her so I guess she became someone I could rely on. 

Her presence suddenly became something I wanted and looked forward to. 

I picked up my phone again.

I typed. “I wanted to call but I did not know if it was too late.”

She replied in less than thirty seconds.

“It is not too late. Call me.”

I called her and she picked up before the second ring.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," I said.

Her voice was different on the phone at night. It was soft and unprofessional. It truly felt like some real person was underneath it. I had noticed this the few other times we had spoken late.

"How are you actually feeling?" she asked. "Not the answer you gave Lily. The actual answer."

I thought about that.

"Drained," I said honestly. "Not in a bad way though. It just feels like I have been holding something very heavy for a very long time and today I finally got to put it on a proper surface and let go of it temporarily." I paused. "If that makes any sense."

"It makes complete sense," she said.

I looked at the ceiling. "Patricia was excellent today."

"She was," Yemi agreed.

"The way she told my mother's story," I said. "In the courtroom. In front of all those people." I paused. "I had heard the story before. I knew everything she said. But hearing it said out loud in that room from another person who believed us, made it different somehow.”

Yemi was quiet for a moment.

"Sometimes things have to be said publicly before they become completely true," she said carefully. "Before this year your mother's story existed but nobody outside a small number of people knew it. Now it is in a courtroom. On the official record. It cannot be undone or denied or quietly forgotten."

I thought about that.

"She deserved that a long time ago," I said.

"Yes," Yemi said simply. "She did."

We were quiet for a moment on the phone together.

The house was completely still around me. I could hear nothing. Just the city outside doing its late night things beyond the walls.

"Yemi," I said, taking a deep breath.

"Yes."

"I am glad you came this morning," I said. "Before the trial with the cake." I paused. "I know Lily called you but I am glad you came regardless of being so busy."

A small pause on her end.

“I already told you that I had already made up my mind to come even before Lily told me about it.” 

"I know," I said. "You told me."

"Then stop thanking me for it," she said warmly.

I almost smiled.

"Get some sleep," she said. "Tomorrow Dr Chen takes the stand and you need to be present for that. Fully present."

"I know," I said.

"Goodnight Ethan."

"Goodnight Yemi."

I put the phone down.

I lay there for a moment longer. Then I got up and washed my face and changed out of my suit and got into bed properly.

I was asleep within twenty minutes.

Tuesday morning was cold and grey. It was another morning that I was surprised at how good I slept. There was no sun, just grey light 

The kind of morning that did not pretend to be anything other than what it was. No sun. Just flat grey light coming through the curtains and the sound of the city starting up outside.

I was up at six again.

Lily was not at the breakfast table this time. She was still asleep. I had checked her door on the way downstairs and saw the star nightlight still on which meant she had not woken up yet.

I let her sleep.

I made coffee and sat at the kitchen table alone for a while.

Henry arrived at six forty five exactly the same as yesterday. Same suit. Same quiet authority. He looked at me briefly when he came in and registered that I had slept and eaten something and was not visibly falling apart.

He poured himself tea and sat down.

"Did you rest?" he asked.

"Better than the night before," I said.

He nodded.

"Dr Chen is the first witness today," he said. "She is expected to take the stand at ten. Patricia has prepared her thoroughly." He paused. "She is ready."

"I know she is ready," I said. "She has been ready for twenty years."

Henry looked at me.

"Yes," he said quietly. "I suppose she has."

We arrived at the courthouse at the same time as yesterday.

The press were still there. More of them today than yesterday, I guess the story had been growing overnight. Clara Mensah's article was being referenced everywhere. People who had not heard of Sarah Blackwell three days ago were now reading about her on their phones on the morning commute.

Brandon's team moved us through again.